‘The House” is astonishingly, mystifyingly unamusing. With Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler in lead roles, the comedy could have been solid counterprogramming to summer franchise-mania. Instead, director Andrew Jay Cohen (“Neighbors,” “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”) delivers one lazy sketch after another, manufactured under the misguided pretense that lewdness and violence are inherently funny.
But it takes more than buckets of fake blood and alfresco bathroom adventures to produce laughs.
There’s a mildly sweet story hiding under all the body fluids. Ferrell and Poehler play Scott and Kate, a couple whose lives revolve around their only child, Alex (Ryan Simpkins), a recent high school graduate. Alex plans to head to her dream school in the fall, though she doesn’t realize that her parents can’t afford it.
Their best friend, Frank (Jason Mantzoukas), is also in a financial bind. Facing foreclosure, he needs money fast, so the three devise a scheme to open a gambling den in Frank’s roomy abode.
In the end, “The House” aims to be a humorous version of “Breaking Bad,” with Scott and Kate justifying their behavior through the needs of their family. That’s not such a bad premise, but the execution is lacking in every way.
