Reese Witherspoon is one of the most formidable Hollywood A-Listers working today. Not only has she won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she also co-owns the production company Hello Sunshine which has made her one of the richest women in America.
But even Witherspoon can't knock it out of the park every time. And Home Again is one of those rare misses that falls short of being a decent romantic comedy.
Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer and produced by Nancy Meyers, it stars Reese Witherspoon in the lead role with a supporting cast that includes Michael Sheen, Candice Bergen, Nat Wolff, and Pico Alexander.
But what is it all about and is it worth watching?
What Is Home Again About?
Alice Kinney is a recently separated mum of two girls who decides to move back to Los Angeles, having previously lived in New York. Alice's dad was a serious film producer and thankfully left her a massive and beautiful LA home which she now lives in.
We meet Alice as she is trying to start her own business as an interior designer. She is run off her feet as a single mum of two and is also turning 40.
On the night of said birthday Alice hits the town with her friends and meets Harry, George and Teddy, three young filmmakers who need a place to live.
After being convinced by her Mum, she lets the three young guys stay in the guest house temporarily, and things soon get complicated.
She falls for Harry, and her ex-husband Austen, shows up with a suitcase in his hand, hoping to try again on their marriage. And that, my friends, is the entire plot of this movie.
Honestly. That's it. So I have two questions. 1 – how on earth did they manage to persuade Reese Witherspoon, Candice Bergen and Michael Sheen to star in this?
And 2 – how on earth did anybody manage to drag Home Again out for nearly one hour and forty minutes???
Home Again Official Trailer
Is Home Again Worth Watching?
The truth is that even if you are desperate for a bit of light romcom relief, you won't find it in this movie.
It's naff as hell, dripping in saccharine and is so cheesy I could smell the brie through the tv. It's a directorial debut for Hallie Meyers-Shyer, daughter of Nancy Meyers, the queen of rom-coms, but it's so exacting and precise and so formulaic that I was thrilled when it ended.
Beautiful people living in beautiful houses with beautiful relationships is essentially the foundation of the whole story, and while I adore a good rom-com as much as the next person, there was just nothing about Home Again that resonated.
I love Reese Witherspoon, so it is actually difficult for me to be so critical, but honestly, swerve Home Again. There's so much more on Netflix worth watching including To All The Boys I've Loved Before which is soooooo much better!
Home Again Movie Cast
Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show) as Alice Kinney, a recently separated mother trying to start an interior design business.
Nat Wolff as Teddy Dorsey, Harry's brother, one of three aspiring filmmakers Alice meets on her 40th birthday.
Jon Rudnitsky as George Appleton, a scriptwriter who forms a bond with Isabel.
Pico Alexander as Harry Dorsey, the director of the trio's short film who has a budding romance with Alice.
Lake Bell as Zoey Bell, a client of Alice's interior design business.
Reid Scott as Justin Miller, a film director.
Michael Sheen (Good Omens) as Austen Blume, Alice's estranged record producer husband.
Candice Bergen as Lillian Stewart, Alice's mother and a former actress.
