In director Jay Roach’s “Meet The Parents,” Ben Stiller brought down the house as Gay Focker, a male nurse whose pursuit of everlasting love is stymied by his own bungling ways and a meddling father-in-law to-be. With “Duplex,” Danny DeVito attempts to mimic Roach’s successful concept, this time pitting first-time property owners Stiller and Drew Barrymore against a pesky elderly tenant. The former is a brilliant comedy of errors; the latter, a comedy that errs. There are laughs to be had in “Duplex,” but overall it’s too predictable and unforgivably ordinary to merit recommendation — this is a retread that disappoints more than it delivers.
The leads play Alex and Nancy, a couple of New York yuppies with very bright futures. He’s working on his second novel; she’s an editor at a trendy magazine. With the help of a duplicitous realtor (Harvey Fierstein) they find their dream home —– an exquisite duplex on one of those charming tree-lined Brooklyn streets that show up regularly in Woody Allen and Nora Ephron movies. The place has everything Alex and Nancy ever wanted: three fireplaces, stained glass windows, a library and a spacious second floor apartment. Sure, there’s a little old lady living in the rent-controlled unit, but Fierstein assures the couple that ailing Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essell) isn’t long for this earth or their duplex. Besides, when they meet the ole’ gal she seems perfectly sweet and completely harmless.
Wanna guess what happens next? Essell does a nice job as the manipulative battle-ax who systematically ruins her young landlords’ lives, but when it comes to generating laughs at Stiller’s expense, she’s no Robert DeNiro. The gags are watered-down even further by the presence of Barrymore, who is featured in most of the comic set pieces, but simply doesn’t have the comedic chops to keep up with Stiller or pump up the flat material. The film loses what little momentum it has when Alex and Nancy begin conspiring to kill Mrs. Connelly. While DeVito was able to pull off this sort of pitch-black humor once before, in his directorial debut “Throw Mama From The Train,” he stumbles here primarily because above all he wants us to like this irksome couple of murderous yuppies. Stiller gives it his all, and almost gets to us, too, but ultimately, his character – and this movie -- is a humdrum imitation of a really funny Focker. (Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language and some violence. Running time: 89 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 26, 2003. Read the original PDF.