With this month’s issue in a home and garden vibe, I would like to pay tribute to home improvement in the movies.
Have you ever had that home improvement project that went disastrously awry? Hollywood has three notable examples of these projects:
In Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948), advertising executive Cary Grant, his supportive wife Myrna Loy, and his anxious lawyer/business manager Melvyn Doulas are delightful in this classic comedy. Eager to escape their cramped New York apartment, Grant and his family believe they have found the bargain of the century in their purchase of “The Old Hackett Place” in the heart of picturesque Connecticut. In reality, they are faced with breathing new life into a dilapidated, 200-year-old farmhouse. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong in this hilarious box-office hit that has delighted audiences for decades. This enduring film even has a place on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years … 100 Laughs list as one of the greatest comedy films of all time.
With director Richard Benjamin at the helm, producer Steven Spielberg remade Mr. Blandings in 1986 as The Money Pit. Tom Hanks and Shelley Long starred as a couple whose attempt to renovate a potential dream house quickly turns into a nightmare. The clueless couple purchase a suburban New York home for next-to-nothing and deceive themselves into thinking that the renovation of this home will be the perfect do-it-yourself project. Hanks and Long face a battle made in comedy heaven as they confront the hopeless prospects of improving the disintegrating structure. Their hopes of a haven quickly become bogged down in the mire of a “money pit.”
The least successful of the bunch is a third attempt at a remake, entitled Are We Done Yet? (2007). Rapper and actor Ice Cube takes on the Cary Grant role in this misbegotten film about newlyweds seeking a better life for their kids in the suburbs. Unfortunately, their plans go wrong in the hands of a bizarre contractor (John C. McGinley).
Are We Done Yet? served as a sequel to another 2005 comedy, Are We There Yet?, and garnered savage reviews. In fact, the film was nominated for one of filmdom’s most dubious honors – The Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel. The Golden Raspberry Awards salute the worst that Hollywood has to offer.
For a more positive take on home décor and home improvement, one filmmaker stands above the rest in making movies that are not only box-office gold but also a decorator’s delight.
That filmmaker is Nancy Meyers. It has been said that many decorators have at least one client who wants a room straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie. Her films are responsible for introducing audiences to what many have called “drool-worthy homes.”
Meyers’ name (along with her that of former husband and business partner, Charles Shyer) has been attached to many Hollywood hits over the last 30 years, including Private Benjamin (1980), Irreconcilable Differences (1984) and Baby Boom (1987), along with Father of the Bride (1991) and its 1995 sequel.
After her divorce from Shyer, Meyers struck out on her own and made her directorial debut with The Parent Trap (1998) in the days before its star Lindsay Lohan became fodder for the National Enquirer. Another smash – 2000’s What Women Want with Mel Gibson – soon followed.
Regardless of her directorial successes, many of Meyers’ fans have stated that she could add interior design to her resume, as viewing her sets can be like flipping through the pages of Architectural Digest.
Three of Meyers’ most memorable luxurious residences are featured in three of her most notable films – Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday and It’s Complicated.
A winner with critics and at the box office, Something’s Gotta Give is a 2003 romantic comedy written, produced and directed by Meyers. Screen icons Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are two successful professionals who are also complete opposites; yet they find love in their golden years.
Beyond the incomparable actors and clever plot, many filmgoers have delighted in Diane Keaton’s lustrous, bountiful white kitchen, which received the distinction of being called “the most-copied kitchen of all time.” The exterior of the home, a beach house in the Hamptons, also has been obsessively discussed through the years.
The Holiday, another Meyers favorite, is a 2006 “rom com” with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet starring as two women from California and England, respectively, who temporarily exchange homes to escape heartbreak during the holiday season. Jude Law and Jack Black co-star as their charming suitors.
Audiences loved Cameron Diaz’s sleek Hollywood home equipped with a pool, gym and the ultimate big screen TV, among countless other amenities. This dazzling abode is in stark contrast to Kate Winslet’s cozy and adorable English cottage. Both of these homes won the adoration of audiences everywhere.
Last but not least, screen queen Meryl Streep hopped aboard the Meyers “Blockbuster Express” in 2009’s It’s Complicated. As a successful bakery owner, Streep finds herself vying for the affections of her ex-husband, played by Alec Baldwin, and a shy architect, portrayed by Steve Martin. The hilarious complications are all staged primarily in the magnificent backdrop of Santa Barbara, California, and Streep’s sunny Spanish-style house.
For all of these films, Meyers readily credits the help she received from production designer Jon Hutman and Los Angeles interior designer James Radin. Nevertheless, ample credit goes to Meyers herself, a screen magician who creates blockbuster films and highly desirable onscreen houses. (P.S. Don’t miss Meyers’ latest hit – The Intern – with Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro).
So take a break from spring cleaning or that honey-do list and curl up with these classic and contemporary comedies that truly celebrate the humor, heartbreak and headaches of “home sweet home.”
