The Good House (2022)

By: Mike Ward on Saturday, October 08

R Running Time: 104 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

  • Sigourney Weaver shines in this adaptation of a popular, best-selling novel by Ann Leary.

  • Moves along at a brisk pace, with light comedy balanced with engaging melodrama - an easy weekend watch.

  • Can Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline be in everything together? Effortless chemistry and they are a joy to watch on screen together.

NO

  • Makes some narrative choices that may throw people for a loop - namely, Weaver’s frequent breaking of the fourth wall to talk directly to viewers.

  • For some, this is going to feel like a made-for-television or straight-to-streaming movie. It’s almost too soft in dealing with the deeper dramatic and thematic angles at play.

  • Makes some significant alterations from the book that may leave fans of Leary’s work frustrated and disappointed.


OUR REVIEW

While there may not be a whole lot that is profound within The Good House, Sigourney Weaver takes the ball and runs with a performance that strengthens a middling script and reunites her on screen with a frequent acting partner in Kevin Kline.

Adapted from Ann Leary’s best-selling 2013 novel of the same name, those unfamiliar with the story or the movie’s marketing may be surprised that Weaver plays an alcoholic, struggling to suppress her demons while trying to keep her fledgling real estate practice afloat in upscale New England.

The marketing doesn’t exactly play up these details. Trailers and television spots I’ve seen amplify the love story that is more of a subplot to the overall story of Hildy trying to piece her life together one day at a time. In an interesting approach, directors, and spouses in real-life, Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky have Hildy turn and address the audience frequently, a breaking of the fourth wall which supplants voiceover narration. The decision delivers mixed results, with one wondering if Forbes and Wolodarsky could have simply trusted the audience to make connections told to us by Hildy - who, at times, proves to be something of an unreliable narrator.

If that creates an unnecessary discordance with the pacing and tone of the film, we do get the sense that life is a challenge for Hildy, despite appearances. Bill collectors are breathing down her door. Her two daughters stage an intervention, and she holds tight to a small cluster of people circling in and around her world. She is bitter over a former friend and rival taking clients away (Kathryn Erbe), joyous in spending time with an old friend who loves to socialize at the bar (Beverly D’Angelo) and ponders advice from a psychologist (Rob Delaney) who hits on uncomfortable truths Hildy may not yet be ready to explore.

Her connection with Kline is fun to see, the duo together for a third time on screen following 1993’s Dave and 1997’s The Ice Storm. Kline is a gruff, scraggly handyman contractor who was Hildy’s first love. Conveniently, fate has brought them together once again for purposes of our story and the effortless chemistry the two recreate is a catalyst to boosting this movie from that of a run-of-the-mill streamer or cable television movie-of-the-week.

Ultimately, the film tosses in a plot twist of sorts, which I imagine will frustrate those who are familiar with the book. Forbes and Wolodarsky handle the last act developments so haphazardly, the film verges on accidental comedy as opposed to high-stakes, emotional drama. Somehow though, Weaver’s presence sells the ridiculousness of the moment. And she makes us believe in Hildy as a character from the opening frame to the last.

The Good House doesn’t break new ground. I imagine it also might hit a little too close to home for some “day drinkers,” or folks who have struggled with alcoholism in the past. On the other hand, this is a pretty straightforward and uncomplicated movie. 

We engage with the story, spend some time pondering the scenes as they unfold and maybe compare Hildy to people we know, or maybe even ourselves. It understands the assignment. Sometimes, that’s enough.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Beverly D’Angelo, David Rasche, Rebecca Henderson, Molly Brown, Kelly AuCoin, Kathryn Erbe, Georgia Lyman

Director: Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky
Written by: Thomas Bezucha, Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky
Based on the novel “The Good House” by Ann Leary
Release Date: September 30, 2022
Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions