Homecoming Movie Review

In theaters July 17th, Paper Street Films and Animus Films present a Morgan J. Freeman production, Homecoming, starring Mischa Barton, Jessica Stroup, and Matt and Matt Long. Mike (Matt Long) is a small-town star athlete who is the first in his family to attend college, receiving a football scholarship to prestigious Northwestern University. When he returns home over Christmas break to the people he left behind – his family and friends – they are all surprised to see him with a new girlfriend, Elizabeth (Jessica Stroup), a pretty rich girl from Chicago. No one is more shocked than Mike’s homecoming queen ex-girlfriend, Shelby (Mischa Barton), who immediately wants to be rid of Elizabeth and plots to take care of the problem. The story takes many twists and turns as Shelby does everything it takes to get Mike back.

Mike is surprised up on his return home to learn that Shelby still thinks they are a couple, despite having been broken up for a few months. Despite his reluctance, Mike agrees to take Elizabeth for an evening out at Shelby’s bowling alley, which she inherited from her parents when they died. Mike knows he is in trouble when Shelby immediately lures him into her office and attempts to rekindle their flame. After he announces that he has a new girlfriend, Shelby makes nice with Elizabeth and gives her a few too many drinks on the house.

Elizabeth doesn’t want to meet Mike’s mom drunk and decides to stay at a motel. Mike’s cousin, police officer Billy, drops her off and doesn’t stick around long enough to realize there are no vacancies. Unable to get a signal, Elizabeth decides to try to walk or hitchhike her way to the next motel four miles away. When she tries to flag down a passing truck, the is unprepared to get out of the way and she is hit by a drunk and upset Shelby.

Instead of calling 9-1-1 or taking Elizabeth to the hospital, Shelby decides to “nurse” Elizabeth back to health at her home. Soon, Elizabeth begins to feel better and wants to leave. Shelby decides she needs more attention and doesn’t let her. Quickly, Elizabeth begins to see that she is no longer a patient, but a captive. The more she tries to escape, the more vicious and aggressive Shelby becomes. In the meantime, Shelby uses the opportunity to convince Mike that Elizabeth left him and returned home. She puts her seductive powers to work. Fully vested in her kidnapping plot, the deranged Shelby sets her sights on her life with Mike. The bad news for Elizabeth is that Mike is vulnerable and thinks she has left him.

Homecoming is a well-conceived concept. It has a bit of a Kathy Bates, Misery flavor, with a Glenn Close Fatal Attraction persona in the Mischa Barton’s Shelby. Unfortunately, the presentation of the Morgan J. Freeman film was lacking. Jessica Stroup did a decent job playing her role as the victim, though aside from being victimized, there wasn’t a lot expected of her. Matt Long was decent. The real downfall of the movie was Mischa Barton’s inability to be taken seriously as a genuine psychotic person. In other words, she is no Glenn Close, or Kathy Bates.

There are some cheesy moments spread throughout the film as well, which really gets in the way of your ability to take the suspenseful nature of the movie seriously. There is some promise in the plot and the potential for suspense and solid drama are always in the background, but there are too many unbelievable elements and flawed acting moments for the viewer to get truly sucked into the story.

MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 88 minutes
Theatrical Release Date: July 17, 2009

Movie Review by Neil of Movie Room Reviews (originally featured 6/24/09)

Tags: Homecoming movie, Jessica Stroup, Matt Long, Mischa Barton