Movie Review: Home Again (2017)
Alice Kinney (Reese Witherspoon) recently moved herself and her two daughters back to L.A., her hometown, from NYC. She and her husband, Austen (Michael Sheen), are separated, and for now he is staying in NYC, as he works for a major music label and is busy signing up-and-coming stars to the label. For her 40th birthday, Alice goes out to a bar with some friends, and ends up meeting three younger guys, who are about to be kicked out of the motel they've been staying at; the guys are aspiring filmmakers, too. Her friends and the guys end up all going back to her place, and the next day, happen to meet her mom, Lillian (Candice Bergen) and her kids, when her mom drops them off for school.
The guys end up charming her mom, a former actress, and Lillian asks Alice if the guys can stay at Alice's house—just for a week or two, as they have meetings in L.A. regarding the film they are trying to make. Alice agrees, even though she and one of the guys, Harry (Pico Alexander), have major chemistry that is slowly turning into something more than just friendship.
Like I said before, this was a strange chick flick, in that (spoiler?) Alice treats the three guys—all of whom are around 27 years old—like her kids, except for Harry. It's kind of a Three Men and a Baby scenario, in that the guys are helping out around the house and also acting as surrogate dads for Alice's two kids, since she and their dad are separated ... which is why it's strange to me that she then starts up a romantic relationship with one of them.
Also, I really hate it when trailers make a movie look like a certain type of movie, and then it's not—i.e., for this one it looked like it would be a romcom with the romance between Alice and Harry taking center stage, with some family stuff thrown in, and it was actually the opposite: the movie was more about Alice and her family, and Alice's struggle to take care of everyone post-separation, rather than Alice and Harry's romance (a refreshing change of pace, for sure, but they should have marketed it as such).
That being said, Yes, see this film. It has my lowest "Yes" recommendation (3 out of 5 stars) but overall it was a cute movie, and had a lot of laughs sprinkled throughout. I'd definitely recommend this one for a matinee (not full-price) or DVD/Blu-ray, though, as the film seemed a little long to me—not a good sign when the runtime is only an hour and a half. There's also a side story with a rich socialite (Lake Bell) that didn't really seem integral to the plot, though it does introduce Alice's new hobby (job?) of house decorating. If you're looking for a comedy with some light laughs, however, Home Again will suffice.
Home Again is in theaters today, September 8th, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 97 minutes. 3 stars out of 5.
