I feel like a lot of people would agree with me in saying it’s quite difficult to come across a comedy flick nowadays that truly makes you laugh. And I don’t mean the odd chuckle here and there. I’m talking laugh out loud, clutch your abs in pain kind of laugh.
Fortunately, The House is a comedy that does just that.
Starring Will Ferrell as Scott Johansen, Amy Poehler as his wife, Kate, Ryan Simpkins as their daughter, Alex, and Jason Mantzoukas as Frank, the Johansen’s neighbour, The House is one of those movies that has such a ridiculous storyline, you know it’s going to be good.
We see the Johansen’s daughter, Alex, and her heart’s desire to attend Bucknell University at the end of the summer. Her parents are delighted to know that Alex is the recipient of the town’s scholarship, which will help pay for her schooling, however, after learning the scholarship has been yanked to fund the town’s new pool, the Johansen’s and Frank take it upon themselves to come up with a way to raise the money for Alex to attend her dream school. The three of them decide to open up a literal casino in Frank’s house (it works out well as his house is quite bare due to his wife recently leaving him for his gambling addiction), and, for the most part, they manage to keep it under wraps.
As you can likely expect, the on-screen banter between Ferrell and Poehler is hysterical, and Mantzoukas’ character is exceptionally goofy (you may know him from his role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Rosa’s lover, Adrian). This movie doesn’t consist of a single dull moment, and the writing is hilarious.
Like I said, it’s hard to find a comedy movie that truly makes you laugh. But, The House is a true exception to this challenge.
Image from https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/06/the-house.html