Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
When Scott and Kate Johansen’s daughter gets into the college of her dreams it’s cause for celebration. That is, until Scott and Kate learn that the scholarship they were counting on didn’t come through, and they’re now on the hook for tuition they can’t begin to afford. With the help of their friend and neighbor Frank also in need of a major payday they decide to open an illegal casino in his suburban house, risking everything together on a Vegas-style bacchanal where money flows, inhibitions are checked at the door, and all bets are off.
The House is a broadly average comedy that wastes a solid comedic cast on a formulaic and predictable premise. Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler do what they can, but the script gives them little to work with beyond escalating absurdity that feels recycled from similar suburban-adults-gone-wild comedies. The cinematography is functional at best, nothing visually interesting or distinctive. The premise has mild novelty in its suburban casino setting but executes it in a thoroughly by-the-numbers fashion. The ending resolves tidily and without surprise. Across the board, this is a competent but unremarkable studio comedy that sits comfortably below average in most categories.