Home

There is a wealth of smaller dramatic triumphs of sly gestures, body language working at odds with spoken words, and minor goofiness (such as repeatedly blowing the rim of an opened beer bottle to create a rough whistle) which makes Home more humane (not to mention more human) than the vast majority of today's movies.

The bad news is that Seitz's protagonists are almost all insufferable: Smug, self-important, opinionated and relentlessly convinced that they're far more sensitive, intelligent and interesting than they are.

There's nothing especially new or interesting about the guests, the party or the movie. One bright note is Nicol Zanzarella as the elegant Susan, a freelance TV editor and co-host.

Home accumulates a blurry, on-the-fly atmosphere spiked with moments of unexpected sweetness. The movie, though, is most successful when the dialogue mutes and our attention is focused on Jonathan Wolff's gliding camera; in those moments, the brownstone is the most interesting character of all.

Home's improvisatory aura proves more believable than "The Anniversary Party's" annoying contrivances, but it does little to hide the obvious fact that watching a rather dull party can be, well, rather dull.