“Reese has put a big ol’ smile on my face yet again!” – Kathy Kaiser – Matinee Chat
HOME AGAIN – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 34 mins.
Starring Reese Witherspoon, Michael Sheen, Candice Bergen, Pico Alexander, Nat Wolff and Jon Rudnitsky
In her first attempt to venture away from acting…and to follow in the footsteps of her brilliantly talented Mother – Nancy Myers (PRIVATE BENJAMIN, FATHER OF THE BRIDE, THE PARENT TRAP, SOMETHING’S GOT TO GIVE, IT’s COMPLICATED, THE INTERN) and her Father Charles Shyer (SMOKEY and the BANDIT, FATHER OF THE BRIDE, IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES) – Writer and Director Hallie Myers-Shyer takes us into her very own ROM/COM, and it was definitely work waiting for…THIS IS HOME AGAIN!
Newly separated from her music mogul hubby Austen (Michael Sheen), and trying to find her way as a single parent, we meet the beautiful and struggling new interior designer Alice Kinney (Reese Witherspoon). Moving from New York back to LA to be closer to her mother Lillian (Candice Bergen), Alice finds that this single parent thing can at times be very overwhelming.
And as Alice faces down her impending 40th birthday as bravely as she can, she decides to brave her new “single person” life and celebrate her impending demise into oblivion one drink at a time…
When Alice meets the gorgeously handsome Harry (Pico Alexander), and his fellow movie making buddies Teddy (Nat Wolff) and George (Jon Rudnitsky) while out celebrating…little does she know that her life is about to change…and in a BIG WAY!!!
Blown away by not only Harry’s good looks, but his charming and sometimes boyish ways, Alice finds herself in uncharted territory, embarking into a relationship with a younger man…
When it seems that Harry and his buddies need a place to stay, its MOM to the rescue, as Lillian sees fit to invite these fine young specimens to stay in the guest house, till they can find permanent residence somewhere in LA…
And when soon-to-be Ex hubby Austen (Michael Sheen) arrives unannounced, declaring that he wants Alice, and their girls back in his life, this new living arrangement may not end up being all it cracked up to be…forcing Alice to decide what is best for her girls, and herself in this big ol’ mess. And it looks like everyone involved is going to have to face the reality that none of this may play out exactly as any of them had planned…
I give HOME AGAIN a rating between MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN & WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON DVD! Let’s just put it out there right away…if you love Reese, then of course, you have to head out to a theater near you this weekend and catch HOME AGAIN. And while we going down the road of telling it like it is…YES, this film is straight up A CHICK FLICK, so grab your girlfriends and leave the boys at home to catch a movie that appeals to them, because its my guess…this one isn’t it! Witherspoon does manage to play another truly likeable character all the way through, and all of the men in her life this time around – (Sheen, Alexander, Wolff and Rudnitsky) aren’t to hard on the eyes either, so there’s that positive along the way as well. And I truly enjoyed this slightly cheesy at times storyline all along the way too…proving that Myer’s- Shyer may truly be “a chip off the old block” as they say when it comes to writing enjoyable Rom/Coms! HOME AGAIN ended up being funnier than I was expecting from the trailer, and absolutely enjoyable the whole way through. I even enjoyed the ending, which I was truly NOT EXPECTING! I mean, if your wanting to see a feel good movie that will bring a little joy to your life, and that doesn’t have hardly any cursing or sex involved…then by all means, please go check out HOME AGAIN with your girlfriends, and soon. But, if you are expecting a ROM COM to beat all ROM COM’s, well HOME AGAIN isn’t that either…so if that’s what you’re expecting, then you might want to wait to catch this film on DVD, a few short months from now…
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 