Open House Movie Review

Movies about real estate are few (The Money Pit and Duplex are the only things that immediately springs to mind), but musicals about real estate simply don't exist.

Until now!

Open House is rarefied air in the world of movies: It is a musical about a non-cinematic subject populated entirely by actors who can't really sing. It takes place largely in one (empty) location -- a lovely open house on a Saturday afternoon. A realtor arrives and puts out finger sandwiches, then the visitors start showing up, notably including a young couple in love (Kellie Martin and James Duval) and a police officer couple, along with a cast of assorted other characters.

The songs are, to put it the only way I can, unique. They're almost all about the house: Typical lyrics talk about the bathtub or the gas range in the kitchen. Unfortunately, none of the cast can sing in key. The numbers range from middling to outright awful, particularly when the whole cast unites for the showstoppers. It's enough to make you turn the volume down. Way down.

That said, Open House is so unique and, ultimately, so harmless, that you can't help but have a decent time. Two days later I'm still humming one of the songs. It's not a particularly good song (especially the way Martin was singing it), but it's stuck in my head.

Damn you, Open House!