Good, but not great

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2002)

This movie is somewhat pretentious and cliched, but it's also quite well done. The characters and the basic premise are nothing if not a series of cliches. You've got the repressed suburban family, Dad is stuck in a dead end job he hates and is on the verge of a midlife crisis, his wife is a Hillary Clinton style frigid overachiever, and their daughter is moody and hates both of them. Next door is Sergeant Psycho and his son, the sensitive, misunderstood loner who videotapes everything and has "insights" that seem like the greatest mystical wisdom ever to silly Jane, the aforementioned moody girl. And of course her best friend is a blonde airhead nympho, the film version of "Married ... with Children's" Kelly Bundy. A blonde bimbo, say it ain't so! And Marine Corps Daddy next door is a rabid homophobe because (Get This!!!) he's secretly in the closet!! Gosh, that's not a cliche or anything, is it???
OK, so there's plenty about this film to poke fun at, especially the times when it takes itself waaay too seriously. Nonetheless, it is well put together. The acting is first rate, and there are numerous moments that are comic genius, most notably, the setup that causes Major Dad to think his son and Kevin Spacey are having sex together when in fact they're smoking pot and the scene where Wifey and the Real Estate stud get busted in the drive through lane at the fast food joint where Spacey is manning the register.

So, the bottom line is - ignore the pretentious bits where this movie tries to send a "message" and just enjoy the parts that are funny as hell.

8/10