Austin Film Festival Movie Review: ‘Home Free’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Still from ‘Home Free’ Courtesy of Entertaining Entertainment and Onion Creek Productions.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Home Free’. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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It is definitely safe to say that we spend a great deal of our lives… searching. Searching for the perfect relationship, the perfect job and we even search for concepts that are far deeper in nature. For instance, we seek internal peace in this life, and we also want clarity and direction and understanding. Specifically, what kind of person we are, what we stand for, and what life on this earth is all about, and well… sometimes we find all of those things in our travels about the world, and sometimes we only find a little and some of what we don’t find… we are okay with. Because sometimes love is fleeting, and a job is a job. But that deeper meaning, we crave that, we want that, and we tend to stop at nothing to find it if we reach our later years without it. 

Which is a real possibility for us since there is no rhyme or reason as to how and when we find that deeper meaning about ourselves and the world and why we were put here. But the day it happens is a special one indeed since we find ourselves in such a unique headspace. Wherein that clarity will drive us to do things that are wonderful and beautiful, and we will do our best to inspire others to find their own peace and see some of the things we see and well, that particularly lovely aspect of the human condition is top of mind today, simply because creative minds are starting to explore how we find just that. And it just so happens, that a powerful film in that vein is screening at the Austin Film Festival, and that makes Home Free, quite the unique and downright surprising watch. Surprising simply because this story takes us on a supremely non-traditional ride toward that deeper message.

For this is a motion picture that at first glance… appears to be nothing more than a delightful frat comedy. One in the spirit of PCU, and it’s even set in the right time frame. Since we meet Owen and Richard in 1997 while they are basically enjoying college life to the fullest. For they are quick to take part in pranks and just have a good time. But one unfortunate prank puts them and their friends on a fascinating path. Wherein they move into off-campus housing to atone for their mistake and while they settle in, Richard decides to have a little fun and make everyone uncomfortable by inviting a local homeless man named ‘The Professor’ into the house. But a chance to meet this brilliant man, and hear his story and see his plight, awakens something within Owen, and gives him the clarity he seeks in life and his purpose; to be kind and helpful to others and provide them with whatever he can to make their lives easier. And his decision to do the right thing for the Professor and his friends will change lives in all the right ways.

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Still from ‘Home Free’ Courtesy of Entertaining Entertainment and Onion Creek Productions.

Which really is… a stunning plot. For you really feel as though you’re going to be plunged into a powerhouse comedy that might or might not end with a crossover between Droz and Parliament Funkadelic and make no mistake about it… the comedy is important here. Because it adds a real sense of fun to this motion picture, and a sense of realism and authenticity. Which is critical since the movie is based off of some true-life experiences of writer and director of this film, Lenny Barszap and Aaron Brown, respectively. But while the comedy makes for enjoyable and relatable moments, it is also critical to what this story is designed to accomplish. Because the jokes make you comfortable and relaxed so that Owen’s journey into the world of the unhoused becomes quite powerful and stunning in nature and grabs hold of you in the process… so you can learn.
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For that part of the film is raw and visceral and holds nothing back in pointing out that we’ve had a major problem with the homeless for far too long. Not that the homeless are the problem mind you. No instead, this film looks at how the real problem is how society thinks of unhoused individuals as second-class citizens, as afterthoughts, and how they receive little care or little public assistance. When in fact, they need help and need decency and respect. Which are some hard truths you don’t see in film all that often, but they are present here and those truths are powerful and eye-opening. Making this college comedy, turned social lesson, quite the trailblazing and poignant film. One that deserves attention for finally starting an important conversation and for making it clear that the current path of how the unhoused are treated is unsustainable.

However, while it is amazing to enjoy a film that offers laughs and tears, we’ve yet to discuss how this movie helps us find the clarity we seek and well, it is Owen’s kindness toward the Professor and his friends that offers just that. Because in many ways, the secrets of the world aren’t as complex as we think, nor is finding them that difficult. Because if we are good to one another and do good things, we quickly find fulfillment in our souls and a desire to improve the world in any way we can. Which means at its core, this is a story that is eager to inform us that being decent to one another, and offering kindness will give us everything we seek and give us the peace and drive we desire. For there is nothing more fulfilling than helping others and seeing the joy in their faces, and if we all took the time to do just that, who knows where our world would be.

To learn more about ‘Home Free’ and the charity it is designed to drive, visit the film’s website.

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