Open House (2003)

I'm glad I didn't see this until after I spent a year watching Christine Lahti as Grace on the excellent 'Jack and Bobby' TV series. Lahti shows her talent here too, and if she was better in the series, that's only because there was such excellent writing there. But this was pretty good.

Daniel Baldwin was very appealing as the MIT astrophysics graduate who takes odd jobs--including helping Samantha's husband David move out after he decided to end the marriage--because he wants to enjoy life. Samantha kept encountering him again not just because she needed ways to make money, but because she had the worst luck with men.

Grace Lynn King really shined as the rebellious but likable Lavender Blue, whose parents named her Kimiko. She ended up moving into Samantha's basement to help Samantha pay her mortgage.

Colin Cowie was also quite good as the TV host who Samantha relied on for advice. Also good were Eva Marie Saint as Samantha's mother, Rita Moreno as Lydia, the woman who rented David's former study, and Tom Harvey as Lydia's boyfriend.

This was a pleasant TV-movie, nothing more.