The material is capably handled by director DeVito and lifted by Stiller, a dab hand at physical comedy who also exhibits some onscreen chemistry with Barrymore.
Comment
01/26/06
Duplex (2003)
37
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:105
Fresh:39
Rotten:66
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: It was funnier when it was called Throw Momma From the Train.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Danny DeVito directs Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore in this devilish black comedy reminiscent of DeVito's THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN and THE WAR OF THE ROSES. Alex Rose (Stiller) and Nancy... [More]
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Ben Stiller, Eileen Essell, Harvey Fierstein
Director: Danny DeVito
Reviews for Duplex
Top CriticClick to read the article
01/07/09
Despite confident direction and performances, it rarely lifts itself above the ordinary.
08/12/08
Top CriticThere's a nice dark comedy in this script that's flattened by DeVito's direction, which continually opts for manic goofiness and cruel vulgarity.
02/12/04
Barrymore wanders through scenes as if she has trouble remembering what day it is.
04/13/04
Top CriticSometimes Mr. DeVito has gone too far, pushing black humor unnervingly close to the abyss of ultimate darkness. But the unpleasantness in Duplex is handled deftly enough to keep the audience's queasiness from turning into disgust.
09/25/03
Top CriticStiller is the only thing Duplex has going for it, but often he's enough.
09/25/03
The interplay between Stiller, Barrymore, and the elderly Essel is what makes Duplex hum perfectly at times.
10/10/03
Eileen Essel is the real find here, as she manages to play the sweetest but most overbearing old woman you can imagine.
09/24/03
Funny despite rickety gags.
09/26/03
A controlled farce that finds its cast mining several big laughs while DeVito, the cynic, deepens the dysfunction with a final surprise twist.
10/09/03
Occasionally, if disturbingly, quite funny.
10/17/03
One of the most unnerving slapstick extravaganzas I've ever seen.
09/29/03
Another DeVito black comedy in which one character tries to knock off another. Stiller and the 81-year-old Essel make worthy adversaries but there's really only one joke here.
10/02/03
DeVito, with his affinity for human savagery and gift for laugh-out-loud grossness, has found comically fertile ground here.
09/28/03
Wickedly funny and full of energy.
09/27/03
Essell is brightly malevolent, and Stiller is perfect as the well-meaning homeowner.
09/30/03
Trying to kill a little old lady never looked so difficult -- or so much fun.
09/25/03
[A] grossly funny black comedy.
09/26/03
When a single look can make me laugh harder than any three films I can name this year, that has to be worth something.
09/29/03
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