Review of Home Again (2017) by Jeff N — 25 Apr 2018

"Home Again" is a film starring veteran romcom actress Reese Witherspoon as a divorced mother of two who allows three struggling film makers to live in her guest house. The romcom adorableness rears its head from the beginning when Reese meets the dashing and charming young Harry and brings him home for the night. Like all good romcoms, their relationship is not as simple as a one night stand when her kids barge in on them (while she's folding his laundry - very PG) and then allows him and his friends to stay in her guest house. The big quirk in this film is the age difference between the romantic leads; the female lead, Alice, is 40 years old, and the male lead is in his 20s. This is obviously a change from the typical same age couples, or older man-younger woman trope. This adds a different layer to the relationship, which the film explores beyond the simple interest in an attractive younger man, like with Diane Keaton's and Keanu Reeve's relationship in "Something's Gotta Give". The serious contemplation of a romantic relationship between an older woman and younger man hasn't been very mainstream in American film or television. I remember seeing a boom of this type of relationship in Korean television called "noona" romances, and "Home Again" appears to be a faint echo of that.

One of the great comedic elements of this movie is the family dynamic between all the characters, especially the young men and Alice and her kids. They mesh so well together, but it is in the way of a mother and her children. This also makes the introduction of her ex husband interesting because he clicks with the young men, but as an adversary. One semi-uncomfortable oddity that arises with these relationships is how Alice acts like the mother of everyone, including her ex husband and romantic interest. I found this to be overshadowed by the adorableness of everyone though, if you didn't look too much into it. It was just a generally feel-good, fluff movie and watching Reese Witherspoon is always a fun time.