Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell Are a Sharp-Witted Pair in This Underrated and Unpredictable Corporate Satire Find help us

Book adaptations are always a mixed bag; for starters, you have fans of the book who expect you to fail, and then there’s the issue of doing justice to the source material itself. But if you’ve got Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell coming out to bat, half the battle’s already won. Whether it’s Basher Tarr with his cockney accent in the Ocean trilogy or porn actor slash aspiring electronic store owner Buck Swope in Boogie Nights, Cheadle always brings something new and fresh to every role. And when you pair him up with Bell, who wowed us in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Veronica Mars, it becomes the perfect one-two punch that House of Lies delivered successfully over five seasons.

House of Lies is based on Martin Kihn’s book House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time. The comedy-drama series was created by Matthew Carnahan (Dirt), and stars Ben Schwartz, Josh Lawson, Dawn Olivieri, Donis Leonard Jr., and Glynn Turman, along with Cheadle and Bell.

‘House of Lies’ Gives Cheadle Free Rein to Showcase His Talent

House of Lies is about a bunch of consultants led by a whip-smart, charming, and manipulative operator who will stop at nothing to win over clients. The series provides a no-holds-barred peek inside a management consultant firm that proclaims to be the second best, led by its fast-talking and even faster-living boss, Marty Kaan (Cheadle). The fact that the top consultancy management spot is held by Marty’s ex-wife’s firm makes the race to claim the summit even more important. The back and forth between Marty and his ex-wife Monica (Olivieri) adds another layer to the show. They say that when you have a thoroughbred, the best thing to do is to turn him loose. And that’s what House of Lies creator Carnahan does.

Cheadle as Marty is magnetic, throwing business jargon with panache and oftentimes breaking the fourth wall to bring the audience in on the scam. It’s another dimension to his prowess as an actor, and Cheadle really knows how to play with the idiosyncracies of his character in a way that brings out their personality. We can tell that Marty’s sleazeball attitude hides a soft, caring interior. Another reason to check out this series is because of Cheadle’s chemistry with Kristen Bell, which is an odd pairing, but it works. Bell, as Jeannie van der Hooven, engages in a will-they-won’t-they complex, flirtatious, and sometimes adversarial relationship with Marty, which is a central element of the show’s appeal. The Season 1 finale, when both get drunk, begins their curious courtship, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats for five seasons, wishing these two could see how right they are for each other.

In one interview, Cheadle termed the duo’s confusing relationship as an exercise in futility by emotionally dim teenagers who knew how to play the callous, cynical game but, when it came to affairs of the heart, were completely at sea. In the same interview, Bell also confirmed that Jeannie knows Marty’s the best thing that happened to her, but it’s just who they both are as people. They’re hardwired to look for weaknesses and then push for the advantage. These forces, played by this odd pairing of genuinely funny leads, keep the series buzzing. While the series started off with Jeannie being limited to making wisecracks and ending up as a foil for the guy’s jokes, her character arc expanded promisingly, in turn coming to be the yin to Marty’s yang.

‘House of Lies’ Adds the Layers to Its Characters Bit by Bit, Keeping the Narrative Interesting

While House of Lies started as a daring comedic critique of consultants and their wealthy clientele, it developed a more complex narrative, especially through the subplot involving Marty’s family life. The characters appeared morally corrupt, driven by unbridled greed and lust on the surface, but then, just when we were about to write them off as cold-hearted swindlers, the show’s sharp humor revealed a softer underbelly that was best highlighted by the romance between Marty and Jeannie and also the contentious custody battle for Marty’s eccentric son, Roscoe (Leaonard Jr.). Marty may be many things to many people, but in his love for Roscoe, he finally shows his true softer side, and we get to see the beating heart of the series. It’s no surprise that Roscoe, with his progressive views on his sexual identity, became one of television’s most endearing characters. His self-assured manner is in stark contrast with Marty’s impulsive nature. Rather than create confusion, this not only gives the series a much-needed soft, mushy center but also adds depth.

Ultimately, House of Lies works because of Cheadle, who makes Marty Khan worth rooting for despite the many awful things he does, and Bell, who shines in an uncharacteristically mean but well-rounded role. Marty and Jeannie getting together was the perfect ending the show needed. Watch House of Lies for the pairs’ amazing chemistry, if nothing else.

House of Lies is available to stream on Paramount Plus in the U.S.

House of Lies

Release Date

2012 – 2015

Network

Showtime