Home Sweet Hell (2015) Reviews

• Don't' Upset Mumsy

  westsideschl2015-07-26

  Wasn't prepared for this twist on the happy, white, middle class, family storyline. I was leaning towards another redundant rom-com (Hollywood not N.Y. style) and should have paid attention to the knife on the DVD cover. It seems, and there's a bit of assuming in this, that 9 out 10 one star ratings come from females and/or families with little ones surprised (upset even) that this film turned out to be a bloody dark comedy. Perhaps hitting too close to home that one of there own should have such a nasty disposition. Leaving aside personal taste I was surprised at how well written, acted and twisty this turned out. Not having any personal connection with an urban/suburban white middle class lifestyle I did not feel violated or offended. We have a super competitive, scrapbook, goal setting obsessive-compulsive mom with an acquiescent former used car, now furniture salesman (2nd & 3rd most ridiculed professions, behind lawyers) dad with two polar opposite kids (reflecting their parents, of course). Final thought, for the squeamish mentioned way above you can sleep better knowing that, no, the kids did survive (those were screams for another).

• I think that this is the reason that men are on a marriage strike...

  AlsExGal2016-07-30

  ...because something like this dark comedy is their collective nightmare. This film is not supposed to make sense from a detailed perspective, nor is it supposed to be filled with introspective self-aware characters, because that is how all of these people got into this fix in the first place. The first tip-off that this is just a farce is the family name of the protagonist...Don CHAMPAGNE??? Really? Well, Don owns a successful furniture business (sort of), owns a big fine house (sort of) and has a beautiful wife and two kids (sort of). You see, Don was a used car salesman and probably happy at that and then he married Mona. Mona's family has money, and Mona has "goals", all of which are very shallow. She is a beautiful woman and cold as ice. Everything is done her way because daddy is financing everything and she never lets Don forget it. She has sex scheduled for Don six times a year, and Don being a healthy guy in his thirties, this is just not enough, but strangely enough he still loves his wife. Enter stage left Dusty, a beautiful girl in her early 20s who answers Don's ad for a saleswoman. She initiates an affair with an at first reluctant Don who later is really into the regular supply of recreational sex and feeling like a teenager again. And here is where guys in this position in film never let the big head do the thinking. Why would a beautiful girl in the prime of life waste her time on a permanently married man? Soon, Dusty tells Don she is pregnant with his child and does not want an abortion AND she is uninsured. Partial karma for Don not offering his employees insurance, partial karma for not running to the nearest exit on his wedding day to Mona. Don has been a real milquetoast so far, and that is probably part of the reason he and Mona are married, but he does summon the courage to tell Mona that Dusty is pregnant, keeping the baby, and demanding money. Mona is partially cool as a cucumber, partially explosive in her reaction, but her final solution floors Don. Dusty must die or else their place in the community will be ruined. And Mona proves to be a very cool and dispassionate killer while Don spends his time throwing up in the bathroom. Mona dismembers the body and fertilizes their lawn with the parts. Game over as far as Mona is concerned. There is only one problem. Dusty has some friends...distasteful and potentially violent friends who know all about her relationship with Don. What happens? Watch and find out. I'd recommend this one because it is a pretty well made dark comedy with lots of plot twists and turns. In spite of the subject matter there is practically nothing in the way of explicit violence although there is plenty in the way of implication, such as when Mona comes in from the garage after dismembering Dusty wearing only her underwear and covered in blood. She says very matter of factly "I'm just covered in that girl" and heads to the shower.

• Funny In All the Wrong Ways

  Necroambulant2015-05-14

  My friend Bryan recommended that I watch Home Sweet Hell, thinking that I would enjoy it. He was absolutely correct. This movie is a twisted little black comedy about a man who cheats on his frigid, OCD wife with a woman he hires to work in his furniture store...a woman he believes is sincerely sweet and genuinely interested in him as a man. The affair goes sideways and his life spirals out of control when his wife becomes aware of the situation. That is as close as I can get to sharing spoilers, aside from the fact that anyone who saw the trailers for the movie is already aware that the wife informs her unfaithful spouse that the only solution is for him to kill the woman he had been having the affair with...so that part should be no surprise. Patrick Wilson manages to succeed in coming across as the bumbling, panic prone, jackass of a husband without any difficulty, but the true star of this movie is Katherine Heigl. This was a very different role for Katherine Heigl...and she pulls it off exceedingly well. I never really felt one way or another about her as an actress, but I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by her performance here. This was an entertaining movie, no question about that. I like this sort of movie though, this sort of dark humor is just my kind of thing...though I tend to prefer things that go a little bit more perverse and a bit darker in my comedy, this one manages to satisfy.

• Surprisingly good blend of humor and dark noir

  loradunes2015-03-25

  After so many negative reviews, I had to watch. I thought this was really good. While it was very funny at times, it was also extremely tense at the same time. That is unusual. Few can pull this off and if it's not what you're expecting. In fact, it defies expectations if you go by the trailer. This plot definitely keeps you guessing as it veers off into surprising turns. Not your standard Hollywood predictability. That it keeps you guessing is to its credit. Heigl was amazing particularly in that one scene where her husband is confessing and she is rubbing lotion on her hands. Will definitely watch again. Lots of twists and great performances by all.

• Good performance, catchy music, subpar direction.

  Dr_Sagan2015-04-18

  Home Sweet Hell is basically a dark comedy. It's not a comedy per se because it has jokes or funny situations. It's comed-ish because of the very efficient performances of the 2 leads, Heigl and Wilson. That's what makes this movie tick in my opinion. The performances are exaggerated but they never become ridiculous. Even some weird and cartoon-ish grimaces delivered form Wilson. The music helps the movie a lot. It gives the proper tone especially when the movie take its dark turn. The direction is OK I guess but nothing to write home about it. The plot soon becomes evident, but there are some twists even after the final credits start to roll. Jim (not James!) Belushi is here too. Gives a professional performance in a rather small part. Overall: A low budget violent dark comedy that will keep you entertain because of the performances and the chemistry of the 2 leads. Good but nothing spectacular.