Alice has moved back to LA from New York and must try to get her life back on track for herself and two daughters when on a separation from her husband Austen. Three aspiring filmmakers end up moving into the guest house and this will help the whole family to change their ways.
I think Reese Witherspoon is one of those actresses that I really will watch in anything and give it a try, that is why I was so disappointed to miss this film on its cinema release last year. I quickly managed to make amends for that and jumped at the chance when it was added to Netflix in the UK.
With Hallie Meyers-Shyer directing I am pretty certain she has picked up some tips from her mother Nancy Meyers as so many small moments made me think of those films. That is not a bad thing in my personal opinion as I am a huge Meyers fan when I need a nice lovely film to watch. 'Home Again' is certainly in that same breed, by no way an award winner but a nice film to watch when you need something to watch easily.
Alice is down on her luck having to move back to LA and start all over again when realising that the life she had before children was not meant to be with her music producer husband Austen who still wanted to party and drink until early hours of the morning. Showing her responsibility towards her girls Isabel and Rosie, putting them first and wanting to give them more opportunities to have a better life. Often helped by her mother Lillian who I personally don't think we see enough of throughout the film, but some brilliant one liners for Bergen when we do!
Lillian is the reason the three younger guys Harry, George and Teddy end up living in the guest house. They are aspiring filmmakers and pretty much sweet-talk Lillian after working out she is a former actress and her husband was an award-winning film director. That created a nice little link to help show just why the young men ended up in the guest house.
Along with that strange and new living situation it seems to have come at the right time for everyone involved. Including Alice's daughters and the impression they have on them helping them through the difficult time. I have to admit that I feared the story was not going to end in the best ways and that was for Alice to really prove she can make her own decisions and create that brand new life even in her forties.
I am personally interested to see what Hallie Meyers-Shyer is going to do next as a writer and director as her mother's tastes certainly seem to have rubbed off! Fantastic for a woman the same age as myself to be writing and directing her own film totally love that. I think this is a good starting point as this is a very popular genre. I thought the film had enough charm and nice moments to make it very watchable.