The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
The Good House
Romance · Drama · Comedy · 2021
When wry New England realtor Hildy Good rekindles a romance with her old high-school flame, Frank Getchell, it ignites long-buried emotions and family secrets that propel Hildy toward a reckoning with the one person she's been avoiding for decades: herself. Based on the best-selling novel by Ann Leary.
Movie details
The Good House
2021 Romance · Drama · Comedy 1h 43m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
When wry New England realtor Hildy Good rekindles a romance with her old high-school flame, Frank Getchell, it ignites long-buried emotions and family secrets that propel Hildy toward a reckoning with the one person she's been avoiding for decades: herself. Based on the best-selling novel by Ann Leary.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Good House?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Once Around
Comedy · 1991
A struggling woman finds unexpected love with a charismatic older salesman at a real estate seminar. Their passionate relationship clashes with the values of her family, particularly her father.
Enemies, a Love Story
Comedy · 1989
A ghostwriter finds himself romantically involved with his current wife, a married woman and his long-vanished wife.
Night Owls
Drama · 2015
After workaholic Kevin has a drunken one night stand with the beautiful train-wreck Madeline, he's horrified to discover that she's actually his boss' jilted ex-mistress. When she takes a bottle of sleeping pills, Kevin is forced to keep her awake... and over the course of the night the two begin to fall for each other.
Chéri
Drama · 2009
The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
How to Please a Woman
Romance · 2022
When her all-male house-cleaning business gets out of control, a mature woman must embrace her own sexuality, if she is to make a new life for herself.
The Elder Son
Romance · 2006
A thief on the run convinces a single father that he is his long-lost son. Complications ensue when he falls in love with his newfound "sister".
Dirty Sexy Saint
Romance · 2019
Clay Kincaid hates the nickname 'Saint', he got for being too kind to stray animals and desperate people. Especially when it comes to women. With a rough and damaged past that has left him jaded, he doesn't do committed relationships. This is before he meets Samantha Jamieson, an heiress turned runaway in need of help. When she starts to work as a waitress at his bar, he discovers that she is someone truly special and amazing… someone that could warm his damaged heart.
Breaking & Exiting
Comedy · 2018
Harry, a charming house thief, gets more than he bargains for during an attempted burglary when he stumbles upon Daisy and decides to save her from herself, sending both of them into a darkly comedic journey of self discovery and love.
Jack Goes Boating
Comedy · 2010
A limo driver's blind date sparks a tale of love, betrayal, friendship and grace—centered on two working-class New York City couples.
(Untitled)
Drama · 2009
A fashionable contemporary art gallerist in Chelsea, New York falls for a brooding new music composer in this comic satire of the state of contemporary art.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Wallace Wolodarsky · Maya Forbes
Written by
Thomas Bezucha · Wallace Wolodarsky · Maya Forbes
Sigourney Weaver
Hildy Good
Kevin Kline
Frank Getchell
Morena Baccarin
Rebecca McAllister
Rob Delaney
Peter Newbold
David Rasche
Scott
Rebecca Henderson
Tess
Molly Brown
Emily
Court is in session
Put The Good House on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.