Lifetime Review: 'Keeping Up With the Joneses: The Wrong Family'
Vivica A. Fox is the head of a successful (but shady) family corporation in this marvelous trilogy opener.
Since the death of billionaire real estate tycoon Theodore Jones, his second wife Robin (Vivica A. Fox) has assumed control of his lucrative business--much to the veiled consternation of her late husband's offspring. Robin's stepchildren consist of motivated CFO Pam (Arie Thompson), principled philanthropist Carrie (Ciarra Carter), reckless party girl Kayla (Shellie Sterling), and rebellious boarding school student Tara (Jasmine Aivaliotis). But despite the women's differences, they've all worked together to keep Theodore's enterprise alive and thriving--even if it means getting their hands a little dirty.
So when the company starts receiving threatening letters warning them to forego their latest business venture, the Joneses are reluctant to go to the police for fear of what they might uncover. Instead, they go about investigating the threats privately, even asking Theodore's estranged love child Carlos (Hector David Jr.) for help. But on top of all the tension brewing among the Joneses, the threats escalate into a physical attack that puts the family on edge. How far will this unseen enemy go to destroy everything the Joneses have built?
Right out of the gates, this David DeCoteau-directed trilogy makes its tone and the nature of its titular family known. Opening on the ladies drinking champagne while fretting over a dead body possibly disrupting their party, Keeping Up With the Joneses makes clear it's not afraid to get snarky when the occasion calls for it. Kandi Burruss's opening narration introducing the Joneses and her sassy remarks about the family throughout the film offer more testament to this. Helmed by a capable Lifetime director and a cast of exceptional women, The Wrong Family offers a strong premiere to this three-part movie event that promises lots of drama and chaos to come.
Given how their characters' shared surname makes up the title, let's begin with the Jones clan. Each member of the family is written and performed impeccably, all being given the depth and feistiness required of a business family with flexible ethics. Even Carrie, who often chides her family for their self-serving tendencies, isn't immune thanks to guilt by association. But in addition to all the unsavory qualities the Jones women exhibit, they each come with their share of likability. Pam has a soft spot for her half-brother and his ailing mother. Carrie is dedicated to charity and is genuinely invested in helping the less fortunate. Robin clearly loved Theodore and is appalled at the suggestion that she only married him for his money. So despite their moral haziness, the Joneses each show in their own way (big or small) that they aren't completely heartless.
Vivica A. Fox brings all her usual sass to the role of Robin Jones, effortlessly selling her as a savvy businesswoman capable of keeping her less-than-reputable business protected from the law and her competitors. Fox shines during Robin's mind game dealings with Webb Devereaux, with Ted McGinley playing well off of Fox as Webb and Robin establish themselves as adversaries who know each other well enough to keep the other on their toes without falling for any tricks. For his part, McGinley is the right mix of sleazy and civil to make Webb a worthy foil to Robin. Arie Thompson brings fire to both halves of Pam Jones: the slick and ambitious CFO and the compassionate woman with a sturdy semblance of moral backbone. Ciarra Carter is lovable as Carrie, the Jones that shows her heart of gold most often and who isn't afraid to call out her family for deriding or exploiting her charity work. Shellie Sterling joins the lovable parade as the quirky Kayla Jones while Jasmine Aivaliotis brings lots of spunky attitude to youngest Jones daughter Tara. Overall, it's a 5-star cast roster playing the title family of this saga.
(Fun fact: Shellie Sterling is the only member of the Jones-portraying cast of Keeping Up With the Joneses to have not been in one of David DeCoteau's "Wrong" movies prior to the trilogy's release)
Much of The Wrong Family focuses on the rising drama among the Jones women--and it doesn't take long to see that there's plenty of tension running through the family, even without threatening letters complicating things. Robin's stepdaughters make little secret of their resentment of her and her role as head of the company and the sisters have a whole array of grievances with each other. Then there's the matter of black sheep half-sib Carlos, who makes no secret of how much he detests the Joneses. But The Wrong Family's primary focus is with the sisters, so it's a good thing they're all played by top-notch actors. There's a few pacing lapses and all the movie's buildup culminates in a fairly generic climax. But for the most part, the drama-building is fun to watch unfold and prepares a good amount of plot threads that are sure to be explored in the next two installments. Fingers crossed that those installments will know how to work with those threads.
The non-Jones roles are also played by skilled actors, with a few playing characters that bring as much mayhem to the table as the Joneses. SPOILER ALERT Opportunistic charmer William and vengeful half-sibling Carlos are the biggest examples of this. William's affair with Pam is a surprise revelation made in appropriately dramatic fashion, and Marcos James is perfectly suave and manipulative as a smooth-tongued two-timer. With his post-coital scene of beating Pam at her own game to avoid signing a prenup and the heated argument he has with Pam later on about their affair, William proves himself to be an apt schemer with a dark side. It's a potentially explosive combination I can't wait to see more of. Similarly, Carlos spends most of the movie as just a sardonic Jones outlier before the conclusion shows his true colors as a ruthless killer. He's oddly likable pre-reveal and positively malicious post-reveal, with Hector David Jr. pulling off both sides of Carlos as his vindictive wrath becomes clearer as the film goes on.
The Joneses may not have the cleanest consciences, but from what we've seen thus far, it seems they're at least above murdering innocent people to get what they want--unlike Carlos. As much as he considers the Joneses "heartless" and their wealth "blood money," Carlos exposes himself in the end as a greedy monster willing to kill a close friend just to claim his father's inheritance all for himself. His plan becomes even more reprehensible when you consider his refusal to accept financial help from his family, apparently valuing his pride more than getting his mother the healthcare she needs as soon as possible. Too bad Carlos' big moment is marred by unbelievably cliché villain dialogue ("you don't have any evidence," "I had no choice," etc.) The climax is likewise dampened by how routinely it ends with Robin pulling out a hidden gun and killing Carlos, Aivaliotis's solid delivery suddenly becoming shaky, and Fox's somewhat stilted "Wrong Title Drop" moment that caps the movie off. I can only imagine how Fox will deliver title drops for The Wrong Letter and The Wrong Blackmail without it sounding totally ridiculous.
(Note: all of Carlos' unsavory traits can also be applied to his sister Maria, played by Stacey Patino. And if the previews for Wrong Letter are accurate, we'll soon be seeing Maria engage in her own self-righteous villainy now that her brother is six feet under.) Spoilers Over
Familiar-faced supporting cast members include Allison McAtee as private investigator Jess Wilson and Michael Paré as Jones family lawyer Sheldon. While she has a few skeletons in her closet (we never find out the details of what got her kicked off the police force), Jess Wilson is comparatively the least problematic and high-strung character of the movie, with Allison McAtee playing her as a cool and collected PI with her own way of doing things. SPOILER ALERT That, and the implication that Jess had suspicions about Carlos that she didn't act on right away out of misguided loyalty, makes Jess's murder subtly tragic. Spoilers Over Alternatively, Sheldon is as ambiguous as they come. While he professes to have the Jones family's best interests at heart, Michael Paré's perpetually stern performance makes it hard to tell if that's the truth. Only time will tell if Sheldon is truly in the Jones clan's corner or if he has another agenda hidden up his sleeve.
Like how the Joneses bounce back whenever an obstacle crosses their path, The Wrong Family is a film that quickly recovers whenever it hits a rut. While an introduction-heavy start to this new Lifetime saga, the action is mostly kept on track and the acting is damn near perfect. All of the Joneses and their associates are fascinating characters with their varying degrees of ethical stability and all the actors playing them are excellent at depicting such compelling personalities. Wrapping up with a flawed but deliciously soap opera-esque ending, here's hoping the next chapter in the Joneses' story builds on what The Wrong Family does best.
Score: 8.5 out of 10 duck livers.
About the Creator
Trevor Wells
Aspiring writer and film lover: Lifetime, Hallmark, indie, and anything else that strikes my interest. He/him.
Twitter: @TrevorWells98
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