Whom among us hasn’t thought that it’s the effort that matters in a relationship — that if you work hard enough, want it bad enough, everything will be ok? This line of thinking often discounts the hard reality that “wanting” isn’t the same thing as “loving,” that one can’t merely will someone into a relationship (or staying in one) unless the object of your desire feels the same. When all the stories we see in mass media often focus on how relationships work because of romance or grand gestures but ignore the day-to-day showing up, the work done in between the highs, a false perception of what love is forms, leading to a great deal of heartbreak until one wises up to the complexity that is a modern, healthy romance. This is a critical element of Untitled Home Invasion Romance, the feature directorial debut from actor Jason Biggs (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; Saving Silverman), as it uses comedy, drama, and horror to examine the false perceptions of romance and what it really means to love someone fully.
L-R: Jason Biggs as Kevin Stanwell and Meaghan Rath as Suzie Stone in the Comedy, Thriller, Action and Crime film, UNTITLED HOME INVASION ROMANCE. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
Married for about a year after a whirlwind romance, Kevin Stanwell and Suzie Stone (Biggs and Meghan Rath, respectively) underwent a two-month trial separation, but that’s all over now and Kevin has a plan in place to woo Suzie once more. Taking her on a romantic weekend getaway, he plans to change her perception of him by staging a break-in with his acting class friend Ernie (Arturo Castro) for which he can play the hero. Except everything goes wrong in the run-up and Ernie ends up dead by Suzie’s hand in the execution. Now Kevin has to figure out how to salvage the weekend, save his marriage, and keep himself out of jail, but police chief (and old camp buddy) Heather (Anna Konkle) is no yokel local. Can Kevin find a way to make everything work or will the crushing weight of truth be the only way to get free?
Written by Jamie Napoli (Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha) and Joshua Paul Johnson (Tomorrow), Untitled Home Invasion Romance has all the markers of a dark comedy like Very Bad Things (1998) or The Duel (2024) in that it features a protagonist who’s fully aware of how deeply in over his head he’s going. By viewing everything as an extension of his profession (actor), he thinks he can manage control except he’s partnered himself with someone who doesn’t take it as seriously, leading to plenty of breadcrumbs for law enforcement to follow and/or discover. There’s humor here for a number of reasons, not least of which is the expectation Biggs creates casting himself in the lead role as Kevin, borrowing from his work-created persona from roles in films like the American Pie series or rom-coms like Loser (2000), which center a well-meaning doof and his quest to find a fulfilling love. We expect a Biggs-romantic protagonist to have positive intentions as things go haywire, so the setup of “Biggs as grand gesture deliverer” nestles Kevin within a character design that feels familiar while as something like coitus with a confection or dancing mostly naked on a webcam for misconstrued clandestine meetings and anxiety-driven decision-making create the opportunity for the fake home invasion with real consequences that serves as the film’s inflection point. Those who enjoy seeing someone squirm are going to enjoy the constructed obstacles that Kevin will face between trying to keep his story straight, managing possible evidence, and the conflicts which arise from the arrival of his wife’s personally motivated old friends. All of this, however, is mere smoke screen as the real intention of the film is, smartly, masked by expectation.
Anna Konkle as Police Chief Heather in the Comedy, Thriller, Action and Crime film, UNTITLED HOME INVASION ROMANCE. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
Now, to get into all of that would risk spoiling several surprises, so, instead, we’ll explore it by way of Kevin’s bungling of his marriage and his ill-approach to fixing it. Why? Because this is the part that matters more than his quest to stay out of jail, the thematic meat while the rest is just the path to explore it. As presented by Biggs, Kevin means well and, at first, both we and he, the character, think that should be enough, because if one means well, then surely the person you life-bond to will be satisfied, right? Except things and people are more complicated than that. It’s not enough to show up for someone, you have to be present, to react, to engage, in order for your partner to feel valued and seen. All the grand gestures in the world don’t mean a damned thing if real needs aren’t being met. It says a great deal about Kevin that he seems most widely known in-universe for a commercial and is still taking acting classes, indicating to us (true or not) that he’s still not been able to break out and, therefore, relies on Suzie financially. Now, there’s nothing wrong with one partner supporting another, but what does it say when Kevin is unable to access the parts of his job (acting) that also make a good partner — the ability (once more) to be present, to react, to engage? This choice by the screenwriters and Biggs establishes that the problem in the relationship isn’t Suzie, but the way that Kevin sees both her and himself. He’s caught up in the version of her that he first met, that experienced the rush of love, and doesn’t seem to see her outside of this; therefore, to him, concocting this home invasion plan *is* romance as it’ll make him see like a hero (a “white knight,” he keeps saying) without asking if that’s what’s actually missing in their marriage? What the script and Biggs, as director, manage to do quite successfully is take the film from the doof’s perspective and integrate Suzie in such a way that we stop seeing her as Kevin does, which is essentially one-dimensional, and gives her fascinating shades. It’s a slow creep, however, masked by the expected escalating comedy and violence (sometimes all at once), but, by the end, an entire shift has occurred wherein Kevin’s perspective is not only demonstrably wrong, it’s no longer the center of the tale. Frankly, it’s the kind of shift that made me wonder if any of the three creative principles on the project are **possible minor spoiler** Coheed and Cambria fans **end of possible spoiler**, but that’s one of those if-you-know-you-know situations. If you don’t know, well, then think of it this way, it’s the sort of shift which makes you wonder why you found the film funny or why you think effort should be rewarded when intention isn’t enough.
As a directorial debut, credit to Biggs for starting simple and small. The story takes place primarily in a few locations, features a small ensemble, and is willing to take audience expectations of him for a ride. Too many actor-turned-filmmakers battle with public perception, seeing a turn in the director’s chair as somehow a greater calling than being an actor, and use the opportunity to crush or confound said perception. It certainly helps that Biggs opts for co-stars who support each other and feel natural in their respective roles whether it’s Castro (Broad City; TRON: Ares) as the well-meaning supportive friend, Konkle (PEN15; When Jeff Tried to Save the World) as the suspicious police chief who may or may not hold a candle for Suzie, Justin H. Min (The Umbrella Academy; After Yang) as a sleezy defense attorney, or Rath (Being Human; Hawaii Five-0) who manages to turn the expected romantic interest from object into a person. Each of these performers creates moments amid chaos and bloodletting to find a bit of honesty so that the weird grows weirder and the strange stranger without feeling heightened in such a way as to break the reality of the narrative. Especially when things get amplified, as shown in the trailer, it’s important for the audience to feel like it’s all a natural escalation and not a step too far, even when, internally, (We and) Kevin must be screaming.
L-R: Justin H. Min as Stu Cho and Jason Biggs as Kevin Stanwell in the Comedy, Thriller, Action and Crime film, UNTITLED HOME INVASION ROMANCE. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
Even when the film feels stuck in the narrative expectations by which a dark comedy must abide, between the short runtime and frequency of surprises, Untitled Home Invasion Romance does entertain. Audiences willing to take the time to consider what it is Biggs seems to say about sustained relationships and the notion of seeing a whole person versus the idealized version are going to feel extra satisfied by the conclusion. Primarily because it’s not only delicious in a darkly comedic way, it also provides a specific comeuppance for the type of partner who centers themselves and declines understanding who their partner is. One can’t have a relationship with an idea and getting to understand a person is messy; metaphorically bloody even. It’s a fascinating choice for a first-time feature director to get his hands so dirty right out of the gate and it makes one curious for what’s next.
Available on digital January 27th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Paramount Pictures Untitled Home Invasion Romance webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Leave a Reply