Everybody's a critic - 'Duplex'

Two stars (out of four)

In "Duplex," Ben Stiller has his usual comedic timing, and Drew Barrymore is pleasant as usual (she was even pleasant during her bad girl phase in the early 1990s), but the movie is a little light on content. It falls into a pattern. Alex and Nancy need to concentrate on work, and Mrs. Connelly manages to dominate their time and mess up their lives and finances. The Mrs. Connelly role is played by Eileen Essel, who is convincing as a sweet little old lady, and then later, a scarier figure.

The second half of the movie becomes much darker, but only if you consider it dark to plot death for someone who practices nonstop with an out-of-tune brass band and blasts episodes of "Hawaii Five-O" all night long.

"Duplex" has many moments in which I chuckled out of sympathy, but few in which I laughed out loud.

-- Carl Wagner, Web site designer

One star (out of four)

Wow. Where do I start. I actually thought this movie had the potential to be mildly funny. "Saving Private Ryan" had more laughs in it than this 90-minute piece of junk.

The story is simple. Ben Stiller plays an author, Drew Barrymore is his wife, and they buy a duplex. The decrepit old lady upstairs is a nuisance and causes them problem after problem. The only funny part is when Drew vomits on Ben's face, which probably occurred because she realized what a horrible actress she is. (She hasn't been good in a movie since "E.T." when she was 6.) I would rather sit through an insurance seminar for days than be subjected to her lack of acting skills again.

This movie did bring a couple of people to their feet. However, it was halfway through the movie, and they exited stage left and never came back. 'Nuff said.

-- Chris Taylor, lab courier/student

No stars (out of four)

I had high hopes entering the theater. I am a Ben Stiller fan. I loved "There's Something About Mary," "Tomcats" and "Meet the Parents." Nobody loves humorous movies more than me. But "Duplex" should be renamed "Stuplex" because it's so stupid.

After 20 minutes I looked at my watch and realized I was in Movie Hell. My husband slouched down in his seat, closing his eyes in pain. You are waiting for the movie to get better or funny but it never happens. It is no big secret that Drew Barrymore can't act. If you want more torture, check out her "Riding In Cars With Boys." In fairness she is slightly better in this film.

Trust me, no one in the theater was laughing and neither will you if you drop $7 to see this boring film by people who have more money than talent.

-- Carolyn Kempf, travel consultant