For a black comedy about suburban life, we go to 2015’s Home Sweet Hell. Don Champagne (Patrick Wilson) runs a successful furniture/rug company and seems to enjoy an idyllic existence with his beautiful wife Mona (Katherine Heigl) and kids Andrew (Aiden Flowers) and Allison (Madison Wolfe).

Alas, all may not be as sunny as it seems, largely because Mona focuses on her idea of a perfect life so intensely that she leaves no room for fun or spontaneity. This leads Don to go astray when an ebullient young woman named Dusty (Jordana Brewster) comes to work for his business. After she seduces him, the pair enter into an affair.

While this re-invigorates Don, matters soon turn problematic. Dusty claims to be pregnant and attempts to blackmail Don. We follow the paths these events take, especially how Mona handles matters.

Though Home didn’t get a theatrical release, Sony advertised it heavily on other videos. I think a good trailer should let the viewer have a decent idea what to expect but shouldn’t reveal too much of the plot, especially if that information unfolds late in the project.

That seems like an issue with Home, as it takes an awfully long time for the actual movie to catch up with the info from the trailer. We know all about the affair and Mona’s subsequent actions from that ad, but the film itself doesn’t get to that material until nearly an hour into the proceedings. This feels like a slow hour, as the viewer seems likely to become impatient along the way.

Even if that viewer enters with no foreknowledge of the film’s story, Home is unlikely to muster much entertainment value. Some of the problem comes from the cast, as Wilson lacks the presence to act as our lead. I think Wilson is a fairly talented guy, but he seems to fare best as a supporting character. When asked to carry the load, Wilson doesn’t make enough of an impact to keep our interest.

Heigl seems stronger as the obsessive-compulsive Mona, but that’s not saying a lot. Heigl gives Mona the appropriate levels of psychotic perfectionism but doesn’t really manage to create an interesting character. Mona seems like such a predictable stereotype that she fails to turn into an entertaining presence.

Beyond the cast’s shortcomings, Home falters because it seems so darned dull. I’m not quite sure how a movie with so much sex and violence can deliver such a sluggish, monotonous affair, but Home pulls off that feat.

This means Home never does anything well. The comedy lacks cleverness or wit and the satire seems stiff and trite. Little entertainment arises during this slow dud.

Home Sweet Hell appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a satisfying transfer.

Sharpness remained positive. A smidgen of softness appeared in some wider shots, but those instances seemed minor. Instead, the image usually looked well-defined. No signs of jagged edges or shimmering appeared, and I saw no edge haloes. Print flaws failed to mar the presentation.

Home went with a fairly vibrant palette. It could tend toward stylization at times – with some teals and yellows – but often went with a dynamic, lively set of hues that came across well. Blacks were deep and dense, while shadows looked smooth and clear. This was an appealing image.

Though not as good, the movie’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack seemed fine foe the material. The soundscape tended to be fairly low-key and focused on environmental areas. This meant some decent ambience – such as during a pool party or a thunderstorm – but nothing impressive occurred. The soundfield opened up the film in a moderate manner and that was about it.

Audio quality was positive. Speech seemed natural and distinctive, and music appeared rich and full. Effects didn’t have a lot to do, but they came across as accurate and dynamic. This remained a competent mix for this story.

Nine Deleted Scenes fill a total of 18 minutes, 22 seconds. One introduces the local police chief and other tangential characters earlier than in the final cut, and we spend more time with the lowlifes that stock Don and his family. A little exposition emerges, but most of the scenes seem forgettable. An extension to the ending offers the most value.

We also find six minutes, four seconds of Outtakes. This presents a fairly standard blooper reel, so if that works for you, have fun!

Next comes a Champagne Furniture and Rugs Commercial. The 43-second clip shows us a fake promo created for Don’s business. We see a little of this in the final film so it’s fun to view the whole thing.

Suburban Butchery: Making Home Sweet Hell runs 10 minutes, two seconds and includes comments from director Anthony Burns, producer Sean McKittrick, and actors Jordana Brewster, Patrick Wilson, Katherine Heigl, and Jim Belushi. We hear about story/characters, cast and performances, and related elements. A few minor insights appear but this mostly presents a promo piece.

The disc opens with ads for The Wedding Ringer, Predestination, 50 to 1, The Intruders and To Write Love on Her Arms. No trailer for Home appears here.

If a movie aspires to become a black comedy, it probably should produce some laughs. Unfortunately, Home Sweet Hell can’t muster much entertainment value, as it plods and sputters and meanders across its 98 minutes. The Blu-ray delivers very good picture as well as acceptable audio and some minor supplements. Though it boasts potential, Home mostly flops.