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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Good Housewrecking remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old-school slapstick where people fall over furniture for twenty minutes, then yes, Good Housewrecking is a riot. If you need a plot that makes sense or characters who act like actual human beings, you are going to hate this.
It’s essentially just a long excuse to break things. Edgar Kennedy is the king of the 'slow burn' frustration face, and he gets plenty of screen time to look annoyed here.
The whole thing starts because these people are supposedly professionals. They are interior decorators, which is the funniest part of the whole film because they clearly have no idea how to hold a hammer, let alone design a room.
They walk into the wrong house and start 'improving' it. The results are predictably catastrophic. It’s like watching a wrecking ball wearing a suit.
It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Motor Trouble, where you just know the machinery is going to lose the fight. Except here, it's a living room.
Is it a masterpiece? No. But sometimes you just need to see someone trip over a rug while holding a bucket of paint. It’s simple, it’s dumb, and it keeps moving.
They don't really try to resolve the story, either. The movie just sort of stops when there is nothing left to break. Refreshing, honestly.
Don't look for the logic. Just watch the mess. 🏠💥