Ball in the House

I saw the movie at the Chicago premier. I have to agree with zooeyfan. Extremely powerful amazing performances. Jennifer Tilly is poisonous. Ethan Embry is menacing. Jonathan Tucker is excellent. The cinematography is quite good. But what a bunch of dysfunctional characters, and what a sad movie!

This is a great movie--rent it on DVD as fast as you can....The acting is superb, and the writing is some of the best I've seen in years. Nothing rings false, which is rare in my experience. Jonathan Tucker, David Strathairn, and Jennifer Tilly all give true performances, and Ethan Embry is perfect. The setting--the locations--the music--all add to the atmosphere and pull you in till you can't look away. I want to see this movie again in the theaters, but I'll have to make do with the DVD for now... Never predictable, and achingly funny and sad at the same time. See this movie--if you have to go out in the freezing cold snow right now!!

A little dark- literally and in plot. Jonathan Tucker is excellent, as is Tilly. A little like the Roseanne Barr show without basal morals. Chunks of sad and chunks of funny. Like Tilly with the grocery delivery guy .

I don't know what possessed Mr. Swan to write this because it's depressing. Hopeless people doing what fate programmed them to do?

RELATIVE EVIL is a well-made black comedy about addiction, recovery, and the people -family, "friends", and nefarious doctors- who try to derail the entire process.

JJ (Jonathan Tucker) is trying to get along after rehab. Jennifer Tilly is perrrfectly wicked as his conniving Aunt Dot, who convinces JJ's dad and uncle to do what is necessary so they can all cash in on JJ's life insurance.

All of the temptations, pitfalls, and disasters of recovery are amplified as the vultures circle.

Funny, frightening, and sometimes devastatingly real, this movie points out the horrors of trying to stay clean in an addicted world. If you've ever struggled with addiction or know someone who has, you'll recognize the truth behind the dark humor...

I just saw this movie at the Malibu Film Festival and thought that it was quite wonderful. The story is about a young man named JJ who at 17 years old has been sent away to rehab after driving drunk and getting into an accident. After 6 months away, he returns home to not so open arms. While his mother is excited to see him, his step-father thinks he's a huge screw-up and won't let him live down his previous life as an alcoholic. Meanwhile, his aunt Dot has taken out a $75,000 life insurance policy on JJ and plans to lure him back to drugs and alcohol, and hopefully into an early grave before his 18th birthday. JJ has to struggle to stay sobber amongst his constantly boozing aunt, partying ex-girlfriend, and drug dealing best friend Bobby, whom he owes $3,500.

While the story itself is really good, the main thing that makes this movie worth seeing it the terrific performances from everyone involved. Jonathan Tucker is fantastic as the emotionally troubled JJ, and convincingly portrays all the emotions of his character. The only other thing I've seen him in is The Deep End, and while I disliked that movie, his performance there was solid as well. I expect great things from him. And Jennifer Tilly is, of course, perfect as the seductive aunt Dot, who plans to kill JJ for half of his insurance money. The real star of this movie, however, is Ethan Embry, who gives the most

amazing performance I've seen out of him yet. I've been a fan since I saw All I Want For Christmas as the age of 9 or 10, and consider Empire Records one of my favorite movies, but this, this is the movie where he really shines. He plays JJ's drug dealing best friend Bobby, who is willing to break JJ's legs if he doesn't get the $3,500 owed to him by JJ's 18th birthday (just 16 days away). He convincingly portrays a scary, intimidating, just plain crazy guy, and I loved every second.