The House of Yes

A wonderful Altmanesque cross between Nashville and Come back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. This is one obsessive, compulsive, spread-eagled, dysfunctional play, extremely well written and very tight. Parker Posey's best performance yet and extremely well cast all around.

I can't recommend it highly enough. This is the kind of movie worth waiting years for!

Enjoy.

Seldom does a movie manage to be at the same time this dark and this funny. Nearly every line of dialogue is wickedly sarcastic--as a playwright, I spent of the time during my first viewing wishing that I could write such biting dialogue.

Parker Posey is wonderful, as is Josh Hamilton as her brother-with-benefits. The mother (the actress' name escapes me right now) is also wonderful, despite her deficient screen time. Even Tori Spelling--pariah of good actors everywhere--does a great job as Hamilton's stupid/naive fiancee (a bit of helpful typecasting). In fact, only Freddy Prinze jr. really didn't do that well in this movie, but his performance was by no means bad enough to ruin it. He seemed handily the most awkward of the bunch.

At any rate, I wound up watching it again, two days after the first time, and would recommend that anyone who hasn't done so follow my lead. Not only doesn't it lose anything on second screening, but the whole thing gets better (check out the Posey/Spellling "Marty's first girlfriend" scene)...

Doing a film adaptation of a play rarely works, but when it does, as it most assuredly does in this movie, the performances are overwhelming and intoxicating. Parker Posey's characterization will be forever burned into my memory. The House Of Yes is completely enjoyable, even startling, and is a 'must see' excellent piece of cinema.

This is in my top five, a very eclectic list. I happened upon it years ago in Blockbuster of all places. This was before they had their "indie film" section. Typically I would walk through looking for movies that they only had one of. Parker Posey is riveting, she plays the part of a mentally unstable individual all too well. Unlike other people on this site I will not give away any plot lines but it is a MUST see. Do not be swayed by Tori Spelling and Freddie Prinze Jr. They do a surprisingly amazing job also. Rent it, own it, love it.

Don't listen to reviews that tag this movie with a "predictable" or "poor" ending - they don't get it. The House of Yes is a brilliant adaptation of stage-to-film. Although the entire movie takes place in a single location, there is no claustrophobic effect - the result of magical cinematography. Each room of the house reveals a new secret, a new mystery. The acting is superb, due to the amazing range of affect offered by Parker Posey, sharply contrasted by the humorously flattened delivery of the other cast members. The script is flawless, the directing well-hidden. Nothing about this movie screams "This is a cool indie film I just made" (hopefully a doomed approach to filmmaking) This is not Ben Affleck posing as a post-punk Dalai Lama in a waste of celluloid, but a true work of art. The incest issue is handled with grace, wit, and true affection, not to mention the laugh-out-loud black humor. It's one of my top ten, right up there with True Romance, Naked Lunch and Miller's Crossing. Again, don't fret over warnings about a predictable ending - the ending is not what it seems. Think about it.