30
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80IGNIGNThe House isn’t quite another Will Ferrell classic but it’s a solid comedy offering that’s well put together and very funny. It’s as smart as it is stupid, it’s very entertaining, it delivers on what you’d expect it to and holds a few neat surprises.
- 50TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeYou get flashes of the clever comedy this might have been — a funny line here, an amusing bit of business there, the occasional whiff of relevance — but it too often lumbers along, coasting on the backs of some very talented performers.
- 40The GuardianGwilym MumfordThe GuardianGwilym MumfordThe exuberant comic talents of Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler are largely wasted in this uninspired addition to the frat movie canon, which resembles reheated leftovers of the Hangover, albeit with a curious detour into some heavy bloodletting.
- 38Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreIt all feels random and slapped together, with seriously under-developed heroes, villains, over-the-top geyser-of-blood violence played for laughs.
- 38Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardThe House's limp comedic pieces are only sporadically enlivened by a game cast.
- 30VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe House, like too many Hollywood comedies of outrage, turns the extreme into the innocuous.
- 25Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDespite the pairing of the eminently likable and talented Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler as the leads, and about a dozen recognizable (and usually funny) supporting players, The House is a fetid, cheap-looking, depressing and occasionally even mean-spirited disaster.
- 25RogerEbert.comChristy LemireRogerEbert.comChristy LemireIn theory, these actors should be able to just show up, be themselves, tap into their formidable improvisational abilities and let the laughs flow freely. In reality, though, movies require scripts. They require actual characters and dialogue and narratives that evolve in ways that are logical, or at least engaging.
- 20The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeVery funny people are running around onscreen doing very unfunny things.
- 20Time Out LondonTom HuddlestonTime Out LondonTom HuddlestonThere’s nothing here that works.