THE GOOD HOUSE
A sobering, hopeful look at alcoholism — adults only.
Should You Watch It?
THE GOOD HOUSE has real merit. Its engaging acting and powerful climactic scene give weight to a story about alcoholism, dishonesty, and the need to ask for help. It does not celebrate addiction; it shows how drinking damages the person trapped in it and the people around her. The ending offers hope.
That hope comes with a heavy cost. Strong foul language, sexual promiscuity, pagan elements, and pervasive alcohol use make this unsuitable for children and young teens. Suicide material and drunk driving may also disturb viewers who have personal or traumatic connections to alcohol abuse.
If you are an adult who can handle those concerns, this is a worthwhile but sobering watch. For family movie night, choose something else.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESHildy Good is an affluent New England realtor whose business and family life are under strain. Although she has promised to stay sober, alcohol continues to pull her back.
When Hildy reconnects with Frank Getchell, a handyman she knew in high school, old feelings return. As her drinking affects more people around her, Hildy must face what she cannot control and decide whether she will accept help.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a solid, engaging dramatic comedy with meaningful strengths. The acting is engaging, and the story culminates in a powerful scene that gives the film’s message emotional force.
The movie is marketed as a comedy, but it focuses more on alcoholism and its consequences than on humor. That sober focus fits the material, though the film’s strong content choices mar its moral theme. Overall, it is a worthwhile film for discerning adults, but not an easy or broadly suitable family viewing.
The Worldview
The film offers a light moral worldview about the dangers of addiction, the importance of honesty, and the need for confession and help. Hildy’s self-denial, lying, and reckless drinking show how addiction damages relationships and isolates people from those who love them. The story’s hopeful direction comes when she recognizes her problem and accepts support.
The film’s moral vision is weakened by pagan elements and by its acceptance of life as messy rather than a pursuit of goodness. It also presents sexual promiscuity and an immoral relationship without grounding its message in a clearly biblical understanding of marriage and holiness. The result is a film that identifies real consequences but does not consistently point toward biblical righteousness.
Its central longing is for healing through honesty and the help of others. Scripture says, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Light moral worldview about the dangers of addiction and the importance of honesty and confession, marred by pagan elements that simply accept that life is messy instead of pursuing goodness and that also include mentions of the female lead’s husband divorcing her to pursue a homosexual relationship with another man
Foul Language
Eight obscenities (including two “f” words) and seven profanities (including a GD profanity)
Violence
Flashbacks reveal a mother commits suicide (movie shows her dead body, but the suicide itself is not seen, and the dead body is not graphic), a man commits suicide off screen, and woman has a cracked windshield, and at first it’s unclear if she hit a person or not
Sex
Strong sexual content overall includes a man and woman fornicate (their bodies are concealed under the bed covers), a woman has an affair, and a man divorces his wife to “marry” another man
Nudity
A woman swims naked in public (her back and partial frontal nudity can be seen briefly), a man and woman are seen naked in a bed, upper male and female nudity are shown but are not graphic and hidden from view, and a woman wears revealing clothing in some scenes
Alcohol Use
Story revolves around alcoholism, and so alcohol and drunkenness are throughout the movie and can be disturbing, but this serves the story and isn’t celebrated, plus several scenes depict drunk driving
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
Some smoking, no drugs
Miscellaneous Immorality
One of the more jarring things is the female lead’s habitual lying (she lies to those closest to her until eventually she snaps and asks for help).
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Hildy’s lying separates her from the people who love her. Why is honesty difficult when we are ashamed, and how can confession begin healing?
Proverbs 28:13 · James 5:16The story shows addiction hurting an entire community, not just one person. What does it look like to bear another person’s burdens without enabling harmful behavior?
Galatians 6:2 · Proverbs 27:6The film ends with hope after Hildy recognizes her need for help. Where do you see the difference between self-reliance and receiving wise support?
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10 · Romans 12:15The movie presents life as messy rather than consistently pursuing goodness. How does Scripture call us to respond when sin and suffering make life complicated?
Micah 6:8 · Romans 12:21The Final Word
THE GOOD HOUSE is engaging, morally serious about addiction, and ultimately hopeful. But strong language, sexual content, alcohol abuse, suicide material, and pagan elements make it a film for discerning adults only. If you are choosing for your family, look elsewhere. Our answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
