Duplex	Back to Menu
	Previous Film
by KEES BOER	Next Film

A Tough Neighbor To Love In Duplex
In 1965, a 47-year-old-lawyer agreed to pay $500 in monthly rent on a gorgeous apartment occupied by a 90-year old woman, Jeanne Calment, until her death. Upon Calment’s death, the apartment would be his. Little did he know that Ms. Calment would end up becoming the oldest woman in the world, dying at the ripe old age of 122. Only one year later the lawyer died at age 77.

This event inspired Larry Doyle to write the script for "Duplex," a hilarious film starring Ben Stiller as Alex and Drew Barrymore as Nancy.

Alex and Nancy are a newlywed couple looking for a new home. They are so excited to find a beautiful townhouse in the New York suburbs. Even though slightly above their budget, the beauty and elegance of the house more than makes up for the extra cost.

The only "feature" they didn't expect was that the upstairs is rented by Mrs. Connelly (Eileen Essell). She seems to be a nice lady, but she is under contract to only pay fifty dollars a month for the rest of her life. She is quite advanced in age and Alex and Nancy aren't worried about it at first, because their home is incredible — and they are counting on the fact that the lady will probably pass away soon.

Even though Mrs. Connelly appears to be a meek and frail lady, she isn't quite as easy as is anticipated. Taking care of her is a fulltime job for maybe three to four people. To top things off, she plays her blaring television until the wee hours of the morning. Alex and Nancy find themselves at their wit’s end as Mrs. Connelly drives them up the wall.

Their dream home has become nothing more than a nightmare. Their bad home-life is not just affecting their home, but it ends up starting to ruin their careers as well.

The film is hilarious. It is one of the best comedies to come out in a long time. I loved the way that Alex and Nancy were trying to solve their tenant’s noise problem. To make things even funnier, Mrs. Connelly owns a parrot, which adds his own humor to the story.

Danny DeVito (from the television series Taxi) directed the film. DeVito saw the humor in the story. "I wanted to establish the irony of having this obstacle - this sweet, but absurdly defiant old woman, Mrs. Connelly, in front of what you desperately want," he says. "And you find yourself, kidding yourself, actually, about what you might do to get what you want."

As I said before this is one of the best comedies out right now. And if you are not in the mood of seeing a Halloween horror film, this would definitely be a great film to watch.

To order your copy of this DVD from Amazon click here

* Graphic Copyright Miramax Film Corp 2003 All Rights Reserved. Story ©Alachua County Today. All Rights Reserved.

Caption Photograph: Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore in Danny DeVito’s DUPLEX. Photo Credits: Darren Michaels, © Miramax Film Corp.