Good afternoon, House of Madness techies:
Would you like to live in a smart house? No, I don't mean a house that slaps back with more sass than Don Rickles, I'm talking about a house so smart, your phone and television seem like complete idiots when held in comparison. Doors open for you, meals are cooked while you watch television with your feet up on the automatic ottoman, while everyday housework and chores are practically a thing of the past. Sound too good to be true? Well perhaps it is, but if this kind of super-technology is on the horizon for the everyday Joe and not just for the world's elite, I'm about ready to trade my vacuum in for a beer fetcher any time now. For the group of friends renting such a house named "Margaux", they're in store for more than a simple house catering to their needs, and this house may truly be to die for.
A bunch of college friends head up to an isolated smart house named "Margaux" for a weekend of drinking, partying, and even more drinking. Things start out simple enough, with Margaux showing off all of her capabilities and tricks to her latest guests, and after all the "ooooooooing and ahhhhhhhing" is finished, the technologically inclined friends get over their initial feelings of awed interest, and proceed to begin the festivities in their quest of getting completely obliterated on whatever their systems can handle. After dinner however, Margaux begins acting weird behind the scenes, and it doesn't take long for her deadly sinister intentions to become known to the audience, while the characters in play are still free to party as their discovery of what Margaux's true motives may be are still under wraps.
"Margaux" as a whole is definitely an interesting idea, but insert a bunch of annoying teenagers, a silly script, and a whole bunch of illogical decisions, and we're left with a complete mess of nothing more than missed opportunities. It's too bad that a film proclaiming to be so smart ends up treating its audience like we're stupid, otherwise this had the opportunity to be a whole lot of fun. Next time I hear of one of these 'smart house movies', I think I'll do the smart thing, and let it watch itself while I watch a classic on my trusty VCR.
Madness Meter: 3.8/10
NB
