Following the mediocrity that was Death to Smoochy, I had hoped that director Danny DeVito would rebound in a major way. Alas, his new picture Duplex never finds it's rhythm, and even though it does have a few very funny moments, it's more mean and ugly than anything else.

In the dark comedy, Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore play newlyweds who think they've found their dream home when they move into a sizable Duplex. Of course there is a catch. In this case it's the elderly Irish woman living
upstairs. The law prohibits the couple from evicting her, so Stiller and Barrymore decide that letting the lady live there should be nothing more
than a minor inconvenience. Boy are they wrong. Before long, this ostensibly sweet old lady is turning their Honeymooner home into a living hell. So much so that Stiller and Barrymore begin to plot increasingly diabolical ways to
rid themselves of their terrible tenant.

With Duplex, DeVito seems to be attempting a return to the films that made him a household name in the directing world. Namely Throw Momma From the Train and War of the Roses. Throw Momma From the Train certainly had a mean streak running through it's veins but it was always funny. War of the Roses was even more vicious, but it was a movie about a divorce gone bad and ultimately, it had a point to make. Duplex doesn't know when to quit. Yes, it has funny moments including a sequence in which Stiller installs the clapper in the old lady's apartment, so that he can turn the TV off for her
if she falls asleep with it on. It's an obvious gag, but it works because of Stiller's expert timing. Unfortunately, the opportunities for Stiller to
bring his comic gifts to bear are extremely scarce.

Barrymore is very cute, but she seems all wrong for this movie, but then I can't think of a single actress that would have been right. Eileen Essel
plays the sweet old lady to the hilt, but this one-joke-movie wears thin all too quickly, and the ending is an absolute embarrassment. It was a downright insult to the audience and I didn't buy it for a second.

Danny DeVito is much more talented than this. In addition to Throw Momma From the Train, War of the Roses, and the wonderfully whimsical children's tale Matilda, he made Hoffa, a beautifully crafted movie that featured one of Jack Nicholson's very best performances. I get what he was trying to do with Duplex, but unfortunately, it never works. Rather than being a return to form for DeVito, this is a movie that belongs in the same league as Drowning Mona and Screwed, two weak films from a few years back. Maybe I'm being a tad harsh. This is slightly better than those misbegotten comedies, but not by much.