9. Revel In Capitalism, Sell The Lie - The Joneses
The Dilemma: The Joneses are a fake family unit who are a gang of so-called "stealth marketers"; everything from the clothes they wear to the food they eat has carefully been prepared, with the idea being that if they are depicted as a desirable, perfect family, then their neighbours will want to buy all the very same products that they have. The dilemma occurs when a neighbour commits suicide, having become obsessed with the struggle to, as they say, "keep up with the Joneses" - should the family out themselves and give up, or keep ploughing away?
The Solution: In the movie, the fake mother and father (Demi Moore and David Duchovny) eventually decide to embark on the beginnings of a relationship, with love triumphing over money, it seems.
How It Should Have Been Solved: An ironic "capitalism trumps all" ending would have been more realistic and also more amusing, rather than the sappy, trite mulch we got. When top-of-the-line
everything is being thrown your way, is it really even a choice?