The magnificent Sigourney Weaver speaks directly to us in the solid and resonant drama “The Good House,” and I mean that in more ways than one. Weaver delivers a powerhouse performance as Hildy Good, a 60-something real estate agent on Boston’s North Shore who is only starting to acknowledge she’s had a serious drinking problem for most of her adult life, and the work certainly speaks to us. But Hildy herself breaks the fourth wall from time to time to address us directly, whether she’s introducing characters as they arrive on the scene, tossing a sarcastic one-liner our way or making excuses for her alcoholism.
We’ve seen this device in so many films and TV series it’s long past its sell-by date, but when Weaver as Hildy talks to us, she does it in such a casual, offhand manner (with the other characters in the scene remaining oblivious, of course, as if they’re in a stage play) that it’s an effective technique, as we can see how skilled Hildy has become at massaging the truth in order to cover her tracks and excuse her actions. She’s lying to us even as she’s lying to the people in her life.
Based on the Ann Leary novel of the same name and co-directed by the team of Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky, “The Good House” is that rare modern-day comedy/drama featuring a romance between two older characters, and given those characters are played Weaver and the equally invaluable Kevin Kline (with whom she co-starred in 1993’s “Dave” and 1997’s “The Ice Storm”), it’s an absolute pleasure and privilege to watch these two gifted pros effortlessly commanding the screen together. They’re as good as they’ve ever been.
Weaver’s Hildy is in a spiral some 18 months after her family staged an intervention and she went through the paces in rehab, only to start secretly drinking the minute she got out. (Hildy rationalizes her behavior by claiming drinking wine isn’t really drinking, and it’s too bad her daughters never met her mother, “because then they’d know what a real alcoholic looks like.”) She’s also on the brink of financial ruin, after her former protégé (Kathryn Erbe) stole most of her clients.
As Hildy breaks open one bottle of wine after another while keeping up a running commentary on events, “The Good House” becomes almost too crowded with supporting players, including Hildy’s well-meaning but whiny grown daughters (Rebecca Henderson and Milly Brown); her ex-husband (David Rasche), who left her for a man but remains a caring friend, and a psychiatrist (Rob Delaney) who’s having an affair with a married woman (Morena Baccarin) who just moved into town, among others. (The supporting players are all excellent.)
Mostly, though, there’s Kline’s Frankie Getchell, a contractor who handles everything from garbage pickup to snow removal to house renovation, and though Frankie looks scruffy and is called a “garbageman” by some, he’s actually one of the wealthiest people in town. “There was a time in my life when I was quite in love with Frankie Getchell,” says Hildy, “and you would’ve been too.” As you might imagine, there’s a chance that romance could be rekindled after all these years.
“The Good House” takes an alarming and not altogether convincing shift in tone in the final act, taking on some deadly serious business involving not one but two characters disappearing, with the possibility both are dead. You might not buy all the plot machinations, but as for the sight of Weaver and Kline together again: That’s an easy sell.
