Realtor dupes couple in `Duplex'

"Duplex" will likely be remembered as a 2003 Ben Stiller laff-fest, strewn with mean-spirited gags and unrelentingly grim low-brow chuckles. But at the same time, it could also serve as a three-step real estate instructional video for landlords.

Step one: watch the landlord characters portrayed in the film. Step two: carefully note the way they handle their tenant. Step three: handle your tenant in the exact opposite way.

Stiller and Drew Barrymore play the hapless married couple who purchase a two-story Brooklyn brownstone, and are legally stuck with a nightmare tenant who already lives there. At first glance, Mrs. Connelly (played by octogenarian Eileen Essel) seems every bit the sweet little old lady you'd expect to top a list of "worry-free model tenants."

By film's end, the couple is literally ready to murder their upstairs occupant -- black comedy style, of course -- as she has driven her landlords beyond tolerance limits and nearly forced them into financial ruin.

Alex (Stiller) and Nancy (Barrymore) can fault Mrs. Connelly for their plight, or they can blame Kenneth, the slick real estate agent who sold them the building in the film's opening reel.

Or, perhaps, the culpability may lie squarely on their shoulders. Even in a farcical live-action cartoon such as this, the lead characters must own up to their failings, even if they are exploited as comedic devices.

"If you look at this movie, and if you scrutinize it strictly from the real estate aspect, you're going to find that the buyers didn't do a lot of things that they should have done," said Sue Streeter, Realtor relations coordinator for Pulte Homes/Del Webb. "They could have alleviated some of their problems."

Alex and Nancy inadvertently decide their fate at the beginning. The eager young twosome fall for the ultrasmooth sales pitch given by Kenneth, who, according to Streeter, fairly closely matches the public's perception of the "real estate wheeler and dealer."

Further, the brownstone appears to conform to their dream home specs: 1,800 square feet, two bedrooms, three fireplaces, a library and a ballroom-size parlor. Streeter noted that Alex and Nancy had their "emotional trigger" pulled by what they saw and heard, and these proved key in their decision.

Naturally, the greasy sales agent makes sure to present Mrs. Connelly as an endearing addition to the package. Kenneth, personified by character actor Harvey Fierstein, could have only gotten away with this deception in a fictional transaction, while the couple's failure to inspect the second level before buying could also be considered unrealistic (in its stupidity), according to Streeter.

"If his purpose was to be their agent, he was not fully representing them properly," she said of Kenneth. "If he was representing both parties in the transaction, then he's obliged to disclose everything and there were things he didn't disclose.

"And, the movie did not portray the buyers completing their due diligence. If you're buying a building that has a tenant in it, part of due diligence is to examine the lease, know what the terms of it are and be fully aware of what your options would be. Nowhere was any of that brought into the film, but in an entertaining movie, you wouldn't want to bring those things into it."

Instead, the movie brings on the mayhem, with the manipulative Mrs. Connelly tormenting the couple with her deafening high-volumed television (for after midnight viewing only), her church's brass band practices, and her round-the-clock requests (demands) for miscellaneous errands around the home and escorts to the store.

One such annoyance occurs early on, when Mrs. Connelly complains about her bathroom pipes, but then calls a plumber herself without the landlords' permission.

"The lease agreement would have specified under what circumstances the tenant could have called for repairs, as opposed to the landlord calling," Streeter pointed out.

Another nuisance, one that occurs at a party thrown by Alex and Nancy, is when she enthusiastically invites a group of co-workers upstairs to show them Mrs. Connelly's apartment, thinking the tenant is not at home. Nancy opens the door and Mrs. Connelly instantly surprises the group with a can of Mace -- sprayed in the face of Nancy's boss.

After the police arrive and tell Mrs. Connelly she can press charges against Alex and Nancy if she desires, Streeter verifies this situation as being true-to-life: the cop in the film accurately states, "Being a landlord doesn't give you the right to enter the tenant's home any time you feel like it."

At one point, Alex laments the legal ramifications: "Damn rent control -- I wish we could just kick her out," he says. But Streeter believes there might be ways, depending on state law, to evict a tenant such as this, even with rent control stipulations in place.

"All the while, they could have called an attorney and said, `Hey, we've got this issue. We bought this building, and now we have this problem. How do we resolve it?' That would make a lot more sense than trying to do what they did."

The film's climax and surprise conclusion, which involve some broad slapstick routines and a generous helping of director Danny DeVito's black humor, help solidify the film's nonstatus as a real estate teaching tool.

"If you're in the business, you don't pay attention to the aspects of this movie. The buyer wasn't adequately represented and the seller was a con artist," Streeter said. "You have to look at it as a piece of entertainment. This is not a documentary on real estate."

Real Estate home