Film

Duplex

Name: Duplex
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2003
Cast: Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore, Eileen Essell, Harvey Fierstein, Justin Theroux

Comedy

A newlywed couple inherits a nightmare: the rent-controlled grandmother who lives upstairs and will not leave. It's a high-concept sitcom stretched into 89 minutes—frantic, broad, and earnestly committed to the bit. For anyone who loves Ben Stiller's panicked energy and doesn't mind their comedy turned up to eleven.

TMDb rating

3.1

If you liked this

Neighbors2014

Seth Rogen and Zac Efron as feuding neighbours, escalating pranks, the same claustrophobic property-line warfare. It has the same anarchic "who will break first" energy.

But The humour is cruder and drunker. If you prefer Stiller's neurotic stammering to Rogen's shrugging chaos, this won't convert you.

There's Something About Mary1998

The Farrelly Brothers at their peak, Ben Stiller getting humiliated in increasingly inventive ways. Gross-out comedy that somehow has actual heart underneath.

But It's a full-on gross-out comedy. Hair gel gags and semen jokes aren't for everyone, and the film leans into it without apology.

Along Came Polly2004

Ben Stiller versus his own neurosis, this time in romance-comedy form. Paranoia, bathroom humour, and Stiller's gift for playing a man unraveling in real time.

But The plot is thin and the jokes are spotty. You're really there for Stiller's performance, and if that doesn't land, there isn't much underneath.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Duplex

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Eating Raoul1982

Both are comedies about marriage as an entrapment, the house itself becoming a character that defines the couple's relationship and descent.

A beleaguered married couple, squeamish and buttoned-up, accidentally stumble into murder. Black comedy about domesticity as a cage, executed with deadpan precision and genuine unease.

But It's genuinely dark. The humour comes from real moral transgression, not pratfalls. The pacing is slow and the tone is cold.

The Out-of-Towners1999

Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis as a couple destroyed by New York City, 1970. Escalating disasters, a marriage tested by circumstance—same DNA as Duplex, but genuinely touching.

But It's slower and quieter. The comedy is drier and the sentiment genuine, which will feel like a tonal whiplash if you came for the hysteria.

The Money Pit1986

Tom Hanks and Shelley Long buying a house that eats their money and sanity. Property-nightmare comedy with real slapstick, a spiritual ancestor to what Duplex is trying.

But The house is the star here, not the couple. If you care about character development, you'll be frustrated by how thin everyone is.

Four Rooms1995

Tim Roth as a bellhop. One floor. Increasingly unhinged guests demanding impossible things. Confined-space hysteria that doesn't quit.

But It's aggressively silly and the concept wears thin before the end. The film knows it and doesn't care, which is either charming or exhausting.

Zoolander2001

Ben Stiller as a complete idiot, committed entirely to the bit, surrounded by his own twisted universe. Surreal comedy that shouldn't work but absolutely does.

But The humour is pure absurdism. If you need plot or logic, you're in the wrong place entirely.

The Heartbreak Kid2007

Ben Stiller, recently married, immediately convinced he made a mistake. Dark romantic comedy about delusion and desire, funny but genuinely uncomfortable.

But It's much darker than Duplex. The comedy comes from real cruelty, and the film doesn't let you off easy for laughing.

The Quiet Earth1985

Inverts Duplex completely: what if you got the house, the peace, the entire world to yourself? A serious exploration of the same property anxiety underneath the farce.

A man wakes up alone on Earth. Science fiction as meditation on property ownership and solitude. New Zealand oddity with genuine dread and philosophical weight underneath.

But It's slow, contemplative, and bleakly sad. There is almost no dialogue and the tone is existential isolation, not comedy.

Eating Out2004

Same era, same comedic DNA (Stiller-adjacent humour), but a different universe entirely. Proof that early-2000s farce worked in registers Duplex never imagined.

A gay romantic comedy with the energy of a stage play, cheap and cheerful and genuinely funny. It's about queer men in their own universe, unapologetic and bizarre.

But It's low-budget, very gay, and frequently crude. The acting is uneven. If you need slick production values, this will feel amateurish.