Susan Granger’s review of “The House of Tomorrow” (Shout! Studios)
Adapted from Peter Bognanni’s best-selling novel, this is the coming-of-age story of Sebastian Prendergast (Asa Butterfield) who, after his parents died in an automobile accident, has been raised by his dictatorial Nana, Josephine (Ellen Burstyn), in one of visionary Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes.
Sheltered and home-schooled, polite, 16 year-old Sebastian helps conduct tours and maintain the retro-futurist premises as a Minnesota tourist attraction and woodsy educational center. But when a stroke sidelines Nana, Sebastian finds a whole, new world opening to him.
Befriended by bible-thumping Alan Whitcomb (Nick Offerman), whose Lutheran church youth group was visiting when Josephine was stricken, Sebastian gets to know Alan’s rebellious teenage son Jared (Alex Wolff), whose recent heart transplant must be constantly monitored.
At first tentative on both parts, an unlikely friendship begins to grow between awkward Sebastian and insolent Jared, who encourages Sebastian to ‘steal’ a bass guitar from the church’s youth center and learn to play, so they can form a punk rock band, dubbed “The Rash.”
Adding to the intrigue, Sebastian feels an attraction toward Jared’s flirtatious older sister, Meredith (Maude Apatow), and then there’s a discordant interlude with Jared’s estranged, alcoholic mother (Michaela Watkins).
Music plays an integral part not only of the plot but also of the pacing. Sebastian’s initial revelation comes when he hears the blasting sounds of Germs on Jared’s earbuds. That’s followed by angry snippets from Black Flag, Stiff Little Fingers, Reckless Eric and The Stranglers, among others, contrasting with Rob Simonsen’s more nuanced original score.
In his first feature film, writer/director Peter Livolsi adroitly intersperses archival footage of futurist Buckminster Fuller with Fred Armisen doing voiceover narration. And since Ellen Burstyn was actually friends with ‘Bucky’ Fuller, the videotape of them together, sailing on his yacht, is authentic. Fuller died at age 87 in 1983.
FYI: Maude Apatow’s parents are Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The House of Tomorrow” is an insightful 7, an intriguing comedic drama.
