Review: UNTITLED HOME INVASION ROMANCE

 by Patrick Bromley

From pie lover to filmmaker.

Jason Biggs is a good filmmaker. Who saw that coming? The American Pie star has had a steady career since fucking that pie in the 1999 teen comedy classic. Back when Hollywood was pushing every member of that ensemble as the Next Big Thing, he had lead roles in Saving Silverman and Amy Heckerling's Loser. Years later, he was still grinding it out with supporting roles in Netflix's execrable Best. Christmas. Ever. -- still probably the nadir of the streaming holiday film (not his fault) --  and hosting the reboot of TBS' Dinner and a Movie alongside his spouse Jenny Mollen. Actors have to act and work is work, but it no longer seemed like Biggs was getting the opportunities he got in the early 2000s when the Pie franchise was dominating the popular culture.

Now Biggs appears to be reinventing himself behind the camera with Untitled Home Invasion Romance, an unfortunately-titled dark comedy that's quite a pleasant surprise. He plays Kevin, a struggling actor (who, in one of the film's most inspired meta-jokes, resents the embarrassing role for which he's most recognized) in a trial separation with his wife Meaghan Rath, who's pretty sure she wants a divorce. Kevin's last-ditch attempt at saving his marriage involves hiring his actor buddy (Arturo Castro) to stage a fake break-in during a weekend getaway to a remote cabin so that Kevin can step up and be the hero, rescuing his damsel in distress and winning her back. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, everything as it turns out. One of the joys of Untitled Home Invasion Romance (originally written under the title Getaway, which I wish they had stuck with instead) is that has a constant ability to surprise even when it seems clear where things are headed. A similar premise was explored about a decade ago by a now-canceled director with the indie Get the Girl, a movie I'm sure Biggs and screenwriters Jamie Napoli and Joshua Paul Johnson have not seen and one which I enjoyed enough at the time despite some of the weird things it had to say about Nice Guys and Friend Zoning. Untitled Home Invasion Romance addresses many of the issues that plagued the previous movie by centering Rath's character instead of Biggs. While there are shades of some genre movies I've loved from the last 15 years coloring pieces of UHIR -- to say which ones would require spoilers -- I appreciate a movie that consistently chooses to zag. Not enough movies are willing to zag these days.

Maybe the movie's best surprise is the accomplished direction by Jason Biggs, who brings just the right amount of confidence and style to the proceedings without going out of his way to show off. A lot of first-time directors do that, especially actors making the jump behind the camera who want to be taken very, very seriously and demonstrate that they are capital F FILMMAKERS. Biggs lets the material and the performances -- especially those by Rath and PEN15 star Meghan Konkle as her former best friend-turned-small town cop -- speak for themselves. I like everyones' willingness to suggest certain aspects of the story without ever feeling it necessary to explicitly spell everything out. The movie has the ability to follow its own surprises, to never force itself into a particular story or even genre. It unfolds rather than simply plays out.

If Untitled Home Invasion Romance isn’t a grand statement, that’s part of its charm: it’s a smart, confident little movie made by someone who clearly understands both the mechanics of genre and the value of strong performances. Biggs doesn’t announce his arrival as a director so much as he earns it, which is the more impressive move. From premature ejaculator and pie fucker to filmmaker isn’t the most obvious career arc, but the movie is a solid First Step toward a Second Act that feels genuinely his own. If this is what Biggs does when no one’s expecting much, it’s worth being curious about what he does next. I know I am.