Movie Review - Home Again

Home Again *** (out of 5) (PG-13) Very few actresses other than Reese Witherspoon could have carried this comedy about the unlikely transition of a 40-year-old mother from Manhattan family to L.A. single-parent. She’s not sure if she wants to divorce, or can ever rely on, her loving, distracted husband (Michael Sheen). While starting over in her late father’s house (he’d been a respected indie film maker, who looked enough like Sheen to raise a whole ‘nother set of psych questions), she and her gal-pals (including the reliable Dolly Wells) meet three young lads who are hoping to get their festival-hit short funded for a feature-length expansion - like zillions of other new arrivals in La La Land. They wind up crashing in her guest house, forming various bonds with Reese and her daughters.

The characters and plot are so sanitized that this is more of a fairy tale than a satire of all things Hollywood, or a relatable character comedy that just happens to occur there. Everyone seems either too likable or too redeemable. Intriguingly, my early annoyance with the setup yielded over time to acceptance and a bit of empathy. Two reasons for the uptick: Witherspoon has the charm and talent to make almost anything work. The “almost” comes mainly from her lamentable outing with Sofia Vergara in Hot Pursuit; rarely have two gifted actresses been so ill-served by a script. Apart from that, she could probably sell any of the crap offered in late-night infomercials. The other factor is that the screenplay manages to avoid most of the cliched outcomes for the cast that can drain the satisfaction from an otherwise tolerable tale. If you’re looking for some fluff, this one delivers a fairly nice package. (9/8/17)