It’s almost surprising that Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler have never been leads in a movie together. Both know funny. Both were hilarious in their Saturday Night Live days and although that comedic flare doesn’t always translate into their films, you always know both are capable of owning any scene.
In The House, Ferrell and Poehler team up as parents whose daughter (Ryan Simpkins) is headed off to college. When the sleazy head of the town’s city council (Nick Kroll) revokes their daughter’s scholarship, the couple is lured into a scheme by their divorced neighbor (Jason Mantzoukas) to raise money for tuition by starting up their own casino in his home. With all of their quirky neighbors onboard, their scheme takes off and leads them down a crazy life as underground casino runners.
As with more and more comedies these days, this film carries a wacky tone that makes it not even remotely believable. This is a world where a town has only one cop (Rob Huebel), all of the adults act like irresponsible children, and a successful casino can be started up in a matter of days by someone who can’t even afford their own home. In other words, have your sense of reality clock out at the box office window.
The utter ridiculousness of the plot makes The House go off the rails at almost every turn. Luckily, this is a comedy, and flaws can be more forgiving if you just make the audience laugh. Ferrell and Poehler, when they aren’t trying too hard to oversell a joke or two, bring out the necessary dose of laughter to make The House moderately entertaining. And if you have never been into their antics then you really shouldn’t be watching this film in the first place. They aren’t alone though. Mantzoukas also manages to master the art of being funny simply with effective facial expressions and delivery.
There were two or three scenes that were so funny they had me in tears. Unfortunately, you’ll have to get through long stretches of buffoonery and annoying characters (*Nick Kroll) to get to them. If you can just turn your brain off and ignore the half baked nature of everything going on, you might just have a decent time with this one.
FINAL GRADE: C