Movie Review: The Good House

If any movie about alcoholism is ever going to have any chance of being a quality production, then the story should show the problem of heavy drinking in its full form, but then also show why the person is an alcoholic.

The new movie “The Good House” starring Sigourney Weaver , a local real estate agent, and Kevin Kline as Frank Getchel a local owner of a construction company, define both of these important aspects of alcoholism very well. This solidly constructed screenplay includes a very well-told story about a once very successful real estate agent, Hindy Good on the coast of Massachusetts, who is showing many common ravages of real life. Her business is failing, her husband divorced her because he discovered he is gay after 22 years of marriage, and she is running out of money in her 70s. Other pressures include what people in her small town are saying about her and think about her – that for many people is the most important thing in their lives – their reputation. All of this causes Hindy to drink constantly, to the point where her family and friends conduct an intervention to get her to go to rehab. For a time, it appears that Hindy has defeated the problem, and then, like so many, she falls off the wagon and drinks again. She even drinks and drives risking her own life and the lives of others.

There are other very interesting side stories in this drama, including her former friend trying to steal her real estate clients from her. Her assistant is a disaster that she is too kind to fire and a close friend of hers is having an affair with another married man. Ultimately this leads to a satisfying story for the whole 2 hours and a very well construction ending. This movie also has the highly unusual idea of having the main character narrate part of the movie while looking directly into the camera – that has both good and bad aspects.

The Rotten Tomatoes ratings for this film are a solid 78%, with my rating about 85% and a strong recommendation for the story and the acting of both Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline.