Film Threat by Kevin Carr

What DeVito does that makes me consider him a master is that he is able to capture the most horrible and nasty facets of the human condition and present them on the screen with the charm and warmth of an Andy Williams holiday special.

Slate by David Edelstein

The movie got me where I live, but I think that even non-Park Slope real-estate owners will have a blast at Duplex: It's one of the most unnerving slapstick extravaganzas I've ever seen.

Salon by Stephanie Zacharek

Delicious dark comedy.

San Francisco Chronicle by Carla Meyer

Stays funny despite rickety gags because Ben Stiller and 81-year-old Eileen Essel are old pros at playing it straight.

Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman

Without Essel, this might have been a run-of-the-mill dark comedy. With the 86-year-old British thespian, it's a wickedly funny and audacious movie in which she puts her capable co-stars in the shade.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

A refreshingly mean-spirited gothic real estate comedy.

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

It's a mean little movie, but it's also thin and repetitive, a premise in search of a story.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington

It's stylish, it's sort of smart, it's full of misplaced talent. But it's not funny enough, and maybe, in a way, not dark enough either.

Chicago Reader by J.R. Jones

Larry Doyle and John Hamburg's script is full of holes, but this is still pretty damn funny--thanks mostly to Barrymore, who seems to be retracing Lucille Ball's trajectory from sex kitten to comedienne.

TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

Playing straight man isn't really Barrymore's strength, but former "Simpson's" writer Larry Doyle's script is funny and Stiller is even funnier; he turns even the more juvenile moments in something to laugh at.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

Its drawback is that it's a one-joke affair, leading to a repetitiousness that makes the film seem overlong even at 87 minutes.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

Looks and sounds like a black comedy, but by the time DeVito reaches the cutesy, nonsensical ending, he's lost the will to follow through on it.

The Hollywood Reporter

More demanding viewers hoping for the cruel wit of DeVito's "Throw Momma From the Train" or "The War of the Roses" will likely be disappointed by its lack of comic bite.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

Runs into construction problems, maybe from too many foremen. DeVito favors pushy slapstick; Stiller prefers hotshot sarcasm. Barrymore's comic talents are wasted; she's there for decoration.

L.A. Weekly by Scott Foundas

Could have used two rangier lead players than Stiller (doing his patented aggrieved-yuppie shtick) and Barrymore (who's so perky you want to slap her); the 81-year-old Essell, however, is a wicked pleasure throughout.

Variety by David Rooney

Somewhere along the line, the comedy turned from dark and playful to mean-spirited and sophomoric. A waste of the considerable appeal and comic talents of leads Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

Duplex's tenant-from-hell scenario is as predictable as it is tedious -- a tinny, unsatisfying throwaway farce.

Washington Post by Desson Thomson

This is a one-note deal, and it doesn't take long before you want to, well, just move out and leave these characters in their rent-controlled limbo.