The Good House by Ann Leary

[review]

Hildy Good–accomplished townie on the North Shore of Massachusetts (picture Gloucester/Rockport). A realtor, she has two adult daughters and lives alone, but is connected to everyone in her little village, including a psychiatrist who rents the office above her business (she owns the building), a former high-school boyfriend who has not, it looks to the world, done much with his life, and various women with whom she’s “friendly.” Hildy has recently returned from a 28-day stay at Betty Ford because her daughters and secretary “intervened” about her drinking, which, “is not a problem.”

I read this in 2021, and it was released in 2013. Lately, though I’ve been was wondering when the movie would finally come to theaters, because it was shown at The Toronto Film Festival last year. Starring Signourney Weaver (not at all what I pictured) and Kevin Kline (absolutely not) which made me search for the release date (September 21, 2022). Then I found the audiobook on Libby, and I decided to listen. Mary Beth Hurt narrates and she’s fantastic! So, I’ve read the book, listened to the book, and now I can’t wait to see the movie even though it has clearly been horribly miscast (Hildy should not be beautiful and tall, nor 71, but rather kind of average in looks, but sparkling in personality, and in her 50s, while Kevin Kline’s character is more like Russell Crowe on his worst fat day ever (yes, he’s still Russell Crowe, swoon, but Kevin Kline takes good care of himself and Russell Crowe doesn’t, and neither does his character).

The interior voice of Hildy is a riot, since she is clearly lying to herself about her drinking, among other things. She’s not being mean to anyone (well, when she’s sober), and she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but she doesn’t see things clearly, partly because she is frequently recovering from blackouts that she doesn’t remember having. She’s charming and helpful, so it’s easy to forgive her. In fact, everyone loves and appreciates her, but they can also see that she’s an alcoholic.

Apparently Signourney breaks the fourth wall throughout the movie to give the sense of the best aspect of the novel (the interior voice) and I’m looking forward to watching that, as it’s a risky move.

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