Reese Witherspoon in HOME AGAIN. Courtesy of Open Road.
Courtney Howard // Film Critic
“Home again, home again, jiggity-jig!”
“You can never go home again.”
These are the phrases that echo through the cavernous spaces in my mind when I think of the new film HOME AGAIN. Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer (daughter of Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer), and produced by Meyers, the romcom stars Reese Witherspoon as “Alice Kinney,” a woman in search of a renewal of her spirit. She finds this back in her hometown of LA by letting three aspiring filmmakers live in her guest house (#NotAEuphamism) – and guess what? They all appear to fall for her… because she’s freaking Reese Witherspoon and she’s a goddamn delight.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Recently separated from her husband, (Michael Sheen), Alice (Witherspoon) decides to start over by moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two young daughters. During a night out on her 40th birthday, Alice meets three aspiring filmmakers (Pico Alexander, Nat Wolff and Jon Rudnitsky) who happen to be in need of a place to live. Alice agrees to let the guys stay in her guest house temporarily, but the arrangement ends up unfolding in unexpected ways. Alice’s unlikely new family and new romance comes to a crashing halt when her ex-husband shows up, suitcase in hand. HOME AGAIN is a story of love, friendship, and the families we create. And one very big life lesson: Starting over is not for beginners.
If Meyers-Shyer has the same talents as her lineage suggests (PRIVATE BENJAMIN, FATHER OF THE BRIDE, BABY BOOM), then HOME AGAIN is gonna get a lot of love from me and other people of my tribe (white, over 40, chardonnay drinkers, aspirational living junkies).
HOME AGAIN opens on September 8.
