The Joneses manages a deft blend of the sexy, the sad and the silly. And Borte doles out his secrets and surprises in ways that make it easy to keep up with these Joneses.

Except for slipping on a third-act soapbox, The Joneses is a deft allegory of the greed and coveting that led to the recession. At times, you wonder if something like this scam could really happen, or does.

Solid performances from David Duchovny (in a cleaned-up version of his Californication character), Demi Moore (defying age), Ben Hollingsworth, and Amber Heard can't save the movie when the screenplay goes as limp as a noodle and turns into a long string of clichés.

Borte supports his jewel of a story idea with dead-on casting, stunning images and product placement that's intentionally heavy-handed.

This cautionary tale might be easier to swallow if all that stuff didn't look like it came from a Sky Mall catalog.