Film Review: Home Again

Last week, IMAGE readers got a sneak peek at Reese Witherspoon’s latest film, Home Again. Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer and from the producers of What Women Want, It’s Complicated, The Holiday, and The Intern, it sees Witherspoon star as Alice, who moves back home to LA with her two young daughters after separating from her husband?(played by Michael Sheen). On a night out to celebrate her 40th birthday, Alice meets three very charming twentysomething filmmakers (played by Nat Wolff, Pico Alexander and Jon Rudnitsky), who she decides (with persuasion from her mother, played by the ever-brilliant Candice Bergen) to take into her home while they try to make it in Hollywood, leading to an adorably unconventional family dynamic.

So, what did viewers make of it? While some commented that it was ?light?, I’m not so sure this is a bad thing. Sure, it’s not ground-breakingly enlightening, but the film is truly original. Yes, there is a happy ending, but not in the conventional, all-wrapped-up-in-a-neat-little-bow way we’ve become so tired of. It’s a happily ever after for the modern woman, who just wants to be happy, not necessarily paired for life. And Witherspoon, as always, is a joy to watch.

More a joy, however, were some of her co-stars. Namely Nat Wolff (aka Teddy, the young actor, who cooks a nice meal and is super cute with the kids), Pico Alexander (aka Harry, the especially good-looking charmer who has a way with words and manages to catch Alice’s attention? for a while) and Jon Rudnitsky (aka George, the writer, who is even more cute around the kids and would have been my personal choice as he’s sweet, sensitive and smart). Special mention goes to Lola Flanery (aka Isabel, Alice’s eldest daughter), who is nothing short of remarkable (mark my words: we’ll be seeing a lot of her in the next few years? she’s just 12, so keep a lookout). And of course, as expected, Michael Sheen and Candice Bergen are both legends.

This is the film you want to watch with your girlfriends (I’m not so sure it’s one for the blokes, but then again, every bloke is different, so maybe show him the trailer and let him decide for himself!).

If you’ve had enough horror films this month (It viewers, we get it, just it’s time for a little joy now!) and your fill of Trump Tweets, maybe you can set aside an evening to just switch off and enjoy a sweet film, which this definitely is.

The film is released by STXinternational?and is in cinemas from September 29.

Cert: 12A