If you can manage to get past these shortcomings, you’re in for a treat. The House of Yes works on many complex levels; it leaves you stunned, but still completely entertained at its finale. The dialog has killer wit on both the figurative and literal levels. Rolfe Kent’s score does a fantastic job of retaining suspense and tension throughout the movie. The acting and casting, for the most part, are superb.

Adapted from a play by Wendy MacLeod, the “House” is one in which the inhabitants, the Pascal family, owing to their wealth and position in society, basically have been able to coast through life, rarely if ever having to deal with the answer “no.” The film, set in Washington D.C., is something of a psychological study of an overprivileged family in which the father has disappeared on the day of the Kennedy assassination. Years later, when the film opens, the family’s fixation on the Kennedys continues to thrive.

Parker Posey

Parker Posey, as the blissfully demented “Jackie-O,” is nothing short of tremendous. She plays the quintessential spoiled brat that cannot figure out what to do with her hyperactive intelligence other than to use it to shoot verbal bullets (when the unfortunate opportunity arises that she does not have an actual gun at her disposal). My take on Posey’s performance: If she doesn’t win an Oscar for this one, or at least get nominated, I quit the Academy.

Veteran actress, Genevieve Bujold is stunning and utterly masterful as the matriarch of the quasi-Kennedy clan. Her reputation as one of the premiere international film stars is well in tact. Josh Hamilton and Freddie Prinze, Jr. do mammoth jobs as the male siblings of the family, who are not sure if they have the same father since Mom was something of a “free spirit.”

I should point out that House of Yes is not without its blemishes. There are minor ones: Mom casually goes to bed without dinner when the oven shuts down; you see her hours later walking the halls in the middle of the night still fully clothed. And then there are more significant ones: Tori Spelling -- a real-life House of Yes girl -- plays Marty Pascal’s fiancee Lesly. Unfortunately, Tori’s efforts to turn in a fine performance are hampered by the fact that she can’t act.

Nonetheless, The House of Yes is clearly a winner and, unbelievably, director Mark Waters’ first time at bat in the feature-length film arena. It goes without saying, that Waters has a bright future. Can the same be said for the fictional characters in The House of Yes? My advice is to buy a ticket and find out for yourself.