the estate movie review

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There’s no saving some movies from themselves, even if they come loaded with a fool-proof idea and a parade of talented actors who should be able to sell even a much lesser premise. Unfortunately, “Death at a Funeral” writer Dean Craig ’s fumbling “The Estate” is one of those movies. On paper, its “let’s swindle our wealthy aunt out of her millions while she’s in her death bed” sounds timelessly funny. And what could possibly go wrong when that elderly woman is played by the legendary Kathleen Turner and the surrounding lemmings feature the likes of Toni Collette , Rosemarie DeWitt , Anna Faris and David Duchovny ?

A lot actually, even though the cast probably had a ball in each other’s company while making this tortured comedy. If only their presence alone was enough for the rest of us too, in order for us to stomach the plotty proceedings that unfold in a handsome mansion in New Orleans. Turns out, slimy familial jokes, uninspired zingers, a prosthetic penis and even Turner’s signature (and dearly missed) raspy voice that understandably blurts out “You’re all assholes!” in one scene don’t add up to sufficient sums of laughs.

The story is simple enough, starting with the down-on-her-luck divorcee Macey (Collette) and her fickle sister Savanna (Faris) struggling financially, holding onto their family restaurant business for dear life even though the place seems to be on its last legs. They can’t get a loan or find a quick solution for survival, other than visiting their wealthy and terminally ill Aunt Hilda (Turner) and milking her for every penny she’s worth by claiming a stake at her inheritance. The two prove to be too late however. Their scheming cousin Beatrice (DeWitt) seems to have beaten them to the punch and already moved into the grand house with her faux over-attentiveness and toothless husband James ( Ron Livingston ). Rounding off the cousin circle is the smarmy Richard (Duchovny), who arrives in his Porsche with his velour tracksuits, icky-colored aviators and even ickier attitude.

Beatrice and James seem to quarrel to no end, as Macey and Savanna continuously try to invent new ways to win Aunt Hilda over. Elsewhere, the grotesque Richard keeps on making inappropriate passes at Macey (whom he’s apparently always had a thing for) while the sidelined Ellen ( Keyla Monterroso Mejia ), who is Macey and Savanna’s sister, stands as a miscalculated character in a movie that has little interest in her. The competition among the cousins escalates, with none of them knowing for sure whether they’d make it into Aunt Hilda’s final will.

What Macey and Savanna do learn however is Hilda’s growing sexual frustration as a dying woman who melancholically misses her high school crush, Bill ( Danny Vinson ). Now an unkempt sex offender who looks like he hasn’t showered in at least two weeks, Bill accepts the offer of the duo and agrees to have a date with Hilda in exchange of money. But would getting Hilda laid actually help the two hapless women? Beatrice seems to think so strongly—so convinced in fact that she asks her own husband to satisfy Hilda’s sexual appetite. But Bill ends up outsmarting the bunch by proposing to Hilda and rapidly establishing himself as the soon-to-be-dearly-departed old woman’s next of kin.

Hilarity doesn’t ensure, mostly due to the coy nature of “The Estate”—shouldn’t a film so keen on ugly-on-the-inside people and their various vulgarities try to be a little less tentative, a little more knowingly offensive and therefore, funnier? But Craig’s film never quite finds its groove, neither as a dark comedy nor as an absurdist farce. While it’s the least of the film’s problems, an amateurish digital cinematography that makes an average “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode look like a Terrence Malick film doesn’t help the matters either. Even with an embarrassingly rich cast, “The Estate” chokes on its own airlessness.

On VOD today.

Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film writer and critic based in New York. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), she regularly contributes to  RogerEbert.com , Variety and Time Out New York, with bylines in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Journal International, Vulture, The Playlist and The Wrap, among other outlets.

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The Estate (2022)

Rated R for pervasive language, crude/sexual material, graphic nudity and brief drug use.

Toni Collette as Macey

Anna Faris as Savanna

Kathleen Turner as Aunt Hilda

David Duchovny

Rosemarie DeWitt

Ron Livingston

Keyla Monterroso Mejia as Ellen

Patricia French as Diane

Billy Slaughter as William Maynard

Danny Vinson as Bill Dunther

Gichi Gamba as Geoff

Cinematographer

• Darin Moran
• Annette Davey

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‘The Estate’ Review: No Good Will

Toni Collette and Anna Faris play sisters trying to weasel their way into their wealthy aunt’s will in this black comedy.

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By Teo Bugbee

In the black, downright venal comedy “The Estate,” Toni Collette and Anna Faris play sisters on the brink of financial ruin. They run a cafe together and have just heard that the bank denied their loan application when they receive what passes for good news in this mordant farce: Their rich Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner) is dying.

Savanna (Faris) is the more unscrupulous sister, and she convinces Macey (Collette) that they should try to cozy up to their ornery aunt in the hopes of being written into her will. But when the pair arrive at Hilda’s home, they find their equally shameless cousins, Beatrice (Rosemarie DeWitt) and Richard (David Duchovny), engaged in similar plans. The family commences a race to the bottom of their dying aunt’s cold heart. But Macey and Savanna are ill-suited to beat Beatrice and Richard when it comes to bedside manners. And so they escalate their efforts at ingratiation, plotting disastrous reunions first with Hilda’s estranged sister, and then with her former flame.

The movie’s director, Dean Craig, is best known for writing the comedy “Death at a Funeral.” As a filmmaker, his images are perfunctory. “The Estate” features a desaturated color palette, and the production design looks shabby, even inside Hilda’s multimillion-dollar mansion. But Craig’s writing retains enough caustic wit for his excellent cast to work with. Collette plays the straight woman to her ruthless relatives, and the contrast between her moral dismay and Faris’s mercenary willpower drives some of the film’s best laughs.

This is a comedy that takes a vicious, over-the-top look at family greed, and fortunately, the cast members are game to play their characters’ attempts at flattery in the most unflattering manner possible.

The Estate Rated R for language, sexual references and brief nudity. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. In theaters.

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‘The Estate’ Review: Toni Collette and Anna Faris Flail Through Half-Baked Payday Comedy

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We all make mistakes, even Toni Collette . Fans of the fearless and versatile Australian actress can take solace that she isn’t alone on this one; a whole host of beloved talented people cast their lot with the same sinking ship that is the cringe comedy “The Estate.” Circumventing any “so bad it’s good” potential by a wide margin, “The Estate” is a half-baked farce about a ragtag bunch of middle-aged cousins jockeying for favor from a wealthy elderly aunt in her final days. The most consistent comedic thread in “The Estate” involves a pushily flirtatious cousin, and it’s not nearly as fun as “House of the Dragon” made it look.

In an odd couple pairing, Collette and Anna Faris play sisters Macey and Savanna, who are struggling to keep their family business afloat. When they learn that their wealthy and childless Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner) has taken a  turn for the worse, scheming Savanna suggests they ingratiate themselves to her in the hopes of securing their inheritance. Though kindhearted Macey has reservations at first, the threat of losing her first decent boyfriend in years to a faraway promotion clouds her judgement. Because maybe if she’s rich, she can support him enough that he won’t need the promotion? Like everything in the movie, the logic is paper thin.

Pulling up to Aunt Hilda’s ramshackle mansion in their rusted beater, they are shocked to be greeted by goody-goody cousin Beatrice (Rosemarie Dewitt) and her hangdog husband James (Ron Livingston). Apparently, the sisters aren’t the only ones who had the brilliant idea to charm Aunt Hilda before she croaks. The real-life married couple spend most of the movie bickering bitterly, with Beatrice playing the one-dimensional nagging wife to James’ beleaguered buffoon routine.

A jolt of the wrong kind of masculine energy arrives with lecherous cousin Richard (David Duchovny), who wryly proclaims “I prefer Dick now,” speaking of his new moniker. Apparently, Richard has been enamored with Macey since childhood, and spends the rest of the movie hitting on his cousin shamelessly. His silliness is rivaled only by Macey and Savanna’s eccentric little sister Ellen (lovable “Curb Your Enthusiasm” weirdo Keyla Monterroso Mejia), a D&D obsessive who stays out of the action until she’s needed at the last minute. If it all sounds like a child making up familial relations for an inconsequential game, that’s what it plays like, too.

With nary a plot point in place other than this broad premise, the competitive cousins jockey for Aunt Hilda’s favor, fighting over who gets to driver her to the doctor or fluff her pillows. When the brassy old broad reminisces about an old boyfriend and how long it’s been since she’s felt a man’s touch, Savanna has the idea to get her laid one last time. If the sisters can be the reason she finds love in old age, perhaps they can edge out the others from the will.

The sisters manage to track down Aunt Hilda’s high school sweetheart Bill Dunther (Danny Vinson), whose name she utters with a mix of reverence and lust at dinner one night. Life hasn’t been as kind to Bill, whom they find living in a halfway house for sex offenders. Though Macey wants to abandon ship, she is eventually is swayed by Bill’s assurances that it was nothing too bad, like rape or anything, just a few flashing charges. Bill and Hilda’s reunion goes far too well, however, and soon they are engaged. A marriage would upset the flow of inheritance for everyone, and soon all the cousins are uniting to frame Bill for indecent exposure.

“The Estate” was written and directed by English screenwriter Dean Craig, who is best known for writing the screenplay for the 2010 comedy “Death at a Funeral.” Directed by Frank Oz in a rare misfire, that film was generally seen as a slapstick farce that wasted talented actors on weak material. Flying solo over a decade later, Craig seems to have done it again. (Though he was aided by executive producers Marc Goldberg and Sarah Jessica Parker, who should have known better.)

It takes truly terrible script to make such charming and accomplished comedic actors seems so wooden and lifeless. Though many of these actors exude charisma, hereit doesn’t even seem like they like each other. An obvious play at appealing to different audience tastes, Faris and Collette are a total mismatch, hailing as they do from entirely different genres and worlds apart in skill. The only possible reason for doing the film is that it puts women front and center. But it “The Estate” is the best that women of a certain age can hope for, Hollywood is in a sorrier state than any dying old bag.

A Signature Entertainment release, “The Estate” will hit theaters on Friday, November 4.

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‘The Estate’ Review: Anna Faris and Toni Collette’s Fortunes Fade in a Tired Money-Grubbing Farce

Two down-on-their-luck sisters try whatever it takes to get into their wealthy aunt's will: Dean Craig's black comedy is hardly fresh, but it didn't have to be this unfunny.

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After an old-school animated credit sequence sets a jaunty, japey tone, the story opens on a glummer note. In a drab corner of New Orleans, sadsack divorcee Macey (Collette) licks her wounds after a failed meeting with a loan manager; arriving tardily on the scene is her flaky sister Savanna (Faris), not someone who’d be much help talking business anyway. At stake is the ailing diner they jointly manage, once the pride of their late father. If they can’t get their hands on a vast wad of cash soon, it’ll be history too.

At least they’re all a step up from a fourth cousin, Porsche-driving skeeze Richard (a leering David Duchovny), who’s granted little purpose in proceedings beyond making incestuous overtures to Macey. “We’ve always had a thing,” he tells her. “That thing being that we’re cousins,” she huffs in response —which is about as sharp as the dialogue gets. Any high-ground differentiations between the principals are pretty much erased, meanwhile, in their ensuing competition to win Hilda’s favor, particularly when their collective focus turns to getting their aunt laid on her deathbed. Sex offenders, honey-trapping schemes and a grisly prosthetic penis all play a part in the hijinks, yet even as the rudeness escalates, the pace stays sluggish, with more lulls than a 95-minute runtime should really permit.

Any flickers of hilarity here are largely in incidental details of performance: Collette’s queasily aghast face, for example, when spontaneously called upon to empty a colostomy bag, or the practically Pazuzu-like contempt in Turner’s characteristically throaty line deliveries. It’s been too long since we saw her — or, for that matter, the recently TV-oriented Faris — in a big-screen comedy of any note at all, and “The Estate” gains most of its pleasures from the mere presence of its stars, who do their best to spar as fast and as far as the strangely low-energy writing allows. But their effort is all too palpably felt: In “The Estate,” dying and comedy alike feel like hard work.

Reviewed at London Film Festival, Oct. 7, 2022. Running time: 95 MIN.

• Production: (U.K.-U.S.) A Signature Entertainment release of a Sky presentation of a Signature Film, Pretty Matches production. Producers: Alison Benson, Sarah Gabriel, Marc Goldberg, Sarah Jessica Parker. Executive producers: Rene Besson, David Haring, Josh Kesselman, Christian Mercuri, Roman Viaris-de-Lesegno. Co-producer: Brianna Lee. Co-executive producers: Claire Demere, Chloe Ifshin.
• Crew: Director, writer: Dean Craig. Camera: Darin Moran. Editor: Annette Davey. Music: Will Bates.
• With: Toni Collette, Anna Faris, Kathleen Turner, Rosemarie Dewitt, David Duchovny, Ron Livingston.

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The Estate Reviews

The work of Mrs. Turner, Colette, and Farris keeps us in a good mood through a movie that doesn't have bigger ambitions than that. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Oct 18, 2023

A brazenly funny adults-only movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 4, 2023

It’s a decent premise but, sadly, it amounts to less than the sum of its parts.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Feb 2, 2023

Because the film is completely lacking in nuance, these themes kind of evaporate in between the gags about body parts. That said, the movie does elicit a few wry smiles along the way.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 19, 2023

The film completely drifts with embarrassing jokes, ridiculous situations, and an absolutely predictable outcome. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jan 17, 2023

Craig clearly wants The Estate to be scandalous and outrageous, but by the time we see Faris pull out someone’s limp dick, the film has truly run its course.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jan 17, 2023

The impressive cast list notwithstanding, this is a dispiriting kind of comedy...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 16, 2023

A quality cast, led by the always watchable Collette, gives the film a veneer of class. Alas, it very quickly rubs off.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 14, 2023

The comedic tone is painful, like a half-baked Farrelly brother's comedy that never made it past the pitch meeting.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jan 13, 2023

Bungled black comedy The Estate, about family members competing to woo and win an inheritance from terminally ill and terminally ill-tempered Aunt Hilda... has nothing but poor aims and misfiring gags.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 12, 2023

The very impressive cast give it everything they’ve got; nothing with Collette in it can be bad.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 11, 2023

Never feels anything but strained and awkward.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Dec 4, 2022

"Ghastly" would be too kind a word.

Full Review | Nov 30, 2022

Bit by bit funny, David Duchovny in particular.

An amazing cast trapped in a coarse, crude script.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Nov 13, 2022

Not even Toni Collette can save this film about two gold-digging sisters from its unoriginal premise and predictable ending.

Full Review | Nov 11, 2022

Basically an updating of the film Greedy with most of the cast trying to elevate an uninspired script except for David Duchovny who turns this from will hunting into a full-on heist film as he steals the movie with every line and comic choice he makes.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Nov 8, 2022

The premise isn’t terribly original. Movies like Daddy’s Dyin’: Who’s Got The Will? have mined this kind of thing before, but Craig goes for broke, unafraid to prove too much is never too much.

Full Review | Nov 7, 2022

The Estate had the perfect setup for a great comedy featuring an all-star ensemble of actors adept at humor, but it fails to meet the bare minimum.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Nov 6, 2022

It’s not funny, it’s not satirical, and it’s not worth your time, or Toni Collette’s.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Nov 5, 2022

Review: More bleak comedy than black, ‘The Estate’ is not worth your time (or Toni Collette’s)

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Watching the ensemble black comedy “The Estate,” written and directed by Dean Craig and co-starring Toni Collette , will no doubt draw comparison to another ensemble black comedy co-starring Toni Collette, “Knives Out,” which dwells in the same milieu of money-hungry family members competing for a mention in a wealthy family member’s will. Of course, “Knives Out” is a twisty whodunit in the vein of Agatha Christie, and Craig’s film is merely an exploration of what depravities people might sink to in hopes of getting a bigger piece of the financial pie. Still, there are enough similarities between the two films, both rife with smarmy, unlikable characters, that one could become preoccupied in wondering why “Knives Out” works and why “The Estate” decidedly does not.

The answer lies in what “The Estate” is lacking, which is someone to root for. There might be some actual stakes in the game if we wanted someone, anyone, to win the inheritance that’s up for grabs when it’s announced that the wealthy and childless Aunt Hilda ( Kathleen Turner ) does not have long for this world.

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One would think that Collette’s character, Macey, with whom’s perspective we are aligned throughout, would be the hero of this film, but it’s a challenge to identify with her passive-aggressive people-pleasing, her character defined only through her relationship to men (her dead father, her ex-husband, her current boyfriend, her creepy cousin).

Craig has crammed the only character exposition and motivation into a truly appalling animated opening-credits sequence set to a jazzy blues tune. We see the animated stick-figure avatars of Macey and her sister, Savanna (Anna Faris), working in a cafe left to them by their late father, and a foreclosure notice from the bank. As we transition out of this animated sequence, the sisters are denied a loan, and they discover Aunt Hilda is dying; Savanna convinces a reluctant Macey to pay a visit to try and get into Hilda’s will. Presumably it’s to save the cafe that we never see again nor care about, until Macey changes her mind halfway through the film and declares she wants the money so her boyfriend, Geoff (Gichi Gamba), won’t move to Alaska.

When they find their cousin Beatrice (Rosemarie DeWitt) and her husband, James (Ron Livingston), already ensconced in Hilda’s New Orleans mansion, with another cousin, the lecherous Richard (David Duchovny), pulling up outside in his Porsche, it’s war. Scatological mishaps and sex crimes (yes, sex crimes) ensue as the cousins fight to be Hilda’s favorite.

It turns out that Beatrice and James want the money for their struggling restaurant (that’s two failing restaurants), and Richard, who prefers Dick, just wants a new Porsche. Though Richard has a strange cousin fetish for Macey, his forthright manner and Duchovny’s relaxed delivery make him the only funny character in the film, and quite possibly the only cousin worth rooting for.

It’s just too hard to hang with Macey when she meekly goes along with Savanna’s harebrained schemes that result in criminal behavior, such as kidnapping and sexual assault; Savanna is so off-the-rails her behavior only makes sense if she was in the throes of a psychotic break, and Faris’ tired comedic schtick doesn’t help dissuade us otherwise.

Watching “The Estate” feels like being gaslit as we attempt to understand the purpose of anyone’s actions, or find any humor in these morbidly bleak antics, when there is simply nothing there. It’s not funny, it’s not satirical, and it’s not worth your time, or Toni Collette’s. Hopefully it was a nice trip to New Orleans.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

‘The Estate’

Rated: R, for pervasive language, crude/sexual material, graphic nudity and brief drug use Running time: 1 hour, 36 minutes Playing: Starts Nov. 4 in general release

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The Estate Review: A Banner Cast Elevates Raunchy Comedy

Sisters (Toni Collette, Anna Faris) battle their cousins (David Duchovny, Rosemarie DeWitt) for their mean aunt's (Kathleen Turner) fortune.

A pair of struggling New Orleans sisters scheme to inherit their vile aunt's fortune but face stiff competition from sleazy cousins with the same plan. The Estate is a raunchy comedy with enough swearing to make your pastor blush. A veteran ensemble of talented actors pull off the zany shenanigans with deft timing. The character interactions will have you laughing out loud as their battle for cash reaches a fever pitch. Kathleen Turner almost steals the show as the cruel Aunt Hilda. The plot's outcome is fairly predictable but not too detrimental. Sharp humor keeps you entertained when the narrative struggles.

Twice-divorced Macey (Toni Collette) and her younger sister Savanna (Anna Faris) are on the verge of bankruptcy. Their small New Orleans café is hopelessly in debt. Their mother, Diane (Patricia French), gives them an unexpected lifeline with family news. Her horrible sister, Hilda (Turner), is terminally ill from cancer. The wealthy Hilda never married and has no children. Savanna convinces a skeptical Macey that they must inherit Hilda's fortune. How difficult could it be buttering up an old hag?

The sisters get a big surprise when they arrive at Hilda's mansion. Their despicable cousins , Richard (David Duchovny), and his older sister, Beatrice (Rosemarie DeWitt), have already swooped in like vultures. The selfish and narcissistic Beatrice has also enlisted her hapless husband (Ron Livingston). Hilda runs everyone through the ringer with her disgusting ailments and bruising personality. The race for ingratiation becomes hilariously desperate as the bickering cousins resort to sordid tactics.

The Cast of The Estate

Director/writer Dean Craig ( Death at a Funeral ) nails the casting. Lesser actors would have looked foolish and been extremely unlikable. The players use their considerable experience to emote depth. Collette's Macey serves as the straight woman trying to grasp the insanity . She hates exploiting Hilda but understands they have no recourse for their financial problems. Macey spent her youth in Beatrice's shadow. She was the plain girl while Beatrice got all the attention. Even worse, Richard, who now prefers to be called Dick, has an incestuous crush on her. Macey continually ducks his advances while trying to coddle Hilda with her harebrained sister.

The Estate gets downright dirty. The cousins will do anything to make Hilda happy. This includes sexual gratification before she takes a permanent dirt nap. These scenes had me rolling with laughter. What they do is so wrong but comedy gold. Again, the amazing cast takes lewd and offensive material to glory. Finding Hilda a date veers into bonkers territory.

Related: Exclusive: Toni Collette & Anna Faris Scheme Laughably in The Estate

The Estate Has Running Gags

The Estate has running gags that bolster the storyline. Keyla Monterroso Mejia co-stars as Ellen, the youngest half-sister of Macey and Savanna. Ellen has an obsession with Dungeons & Dragons. She spends the film in medieval costumes trying to convince everyone to play. This bit never gets old and has a major impact on the third act.

You can guess where the film is going early on. The infighting leads to comical reveals, but the overall story doesn't. This is normally an insurmountable fault. Skilled actors with great chemistry hurdle that obstacle. The Estate works because its damn funny.

The Estate is a production of Signature Films, Capstone Studios, and Pretty Matches Productions. It will be released theatrically on November 4th from Signature Entertainment .

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Skadoosh: ‘kung fu panda 4’ crosses $500m ww;  ‘challengers’ widens offshore net; ‘the fall guy’ starts overseas action – international box office, ‘the estate’ review: toni collette and anna faris scheme in outrageously tasteless (but funny) farce.

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You may hate yourself in the morning, but if you are in the mood for a completely un-PC, morbidly amusing farce about the need for greed, the new comedy The Estate may be right up your alley.

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What gave me hope here was the sterling ensemble cast Craig has managed to assemble. You figure if Toni Collette , Anna Faris , David Duchovny , Rosemarie DeWitt , Ron Livingston, and above all, the irresistible Kathleen Turner in a killer comic turn as an insufferable dying aunt who may be holding all the cards here, there has to be some redeemable value to all this. Basically it is just a hoot watching them all swing for the fences and score laughs at everyone’s expense.

The premise isn’t terribly original. Movies like Daddy’s Dyin’: Who’s Got The Will? have mined this kind of thing before, but Craig goes for broke, unafraid to prove too much is never too much.

The fun here is watching them all compete against each other in gross ways. Macey and Savanna even kidnap Hilda in order to force a reunion with their mother, estranged forever from her sister, because they think it might benefit their cause – it turns disastrous. On top of that, Richard has always had the hots for Macey even though they are related, still making moves on her. “Did you know that there are entire porn sights dedicated solely to cousin-f*cking?,” he asks.

During a family dinner in which they all jockey for Hilda’s attention, Beatrice presents her with a lovingly compiled scrapbook of her life, and as she looks through it points out the high school boy, Bill Dunther, she felt could have been the love of her life but was the one who got away. She then laments she will never again have sex. Lightbulbs go off and Savanna comes up with the idea to track down Bill ( a game Danny Vinson), only to find him living in a half way house for prisioners just released, in his case jail time for his penchant to expose himself to anyone he sees. Nevertheless they convince him to come visit Hilda before she passes, but the plan soon careens out of control when Hilda and Bill unexpectedly announce marriage plans almost immediately after the reunion, meaning it would be Bill who becomes the main beneficiary of her will. Oy. Now with someone in common to stop , the desperate relatives band together for what becomes one, just one, of the film’s most deliciously tasteless sequences. It may not be on the same level as the masterpiece of greed comedies, 1963’s It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, but it’ll do.

Turner, with primo comic timing, steals every scene she is in as you might expect. Faris uses her sitcom chops to good advantage, as the always welcome Collette gets to mostly play it straight. Duchovny seems to have a blast going as low brow as possible, De Witt is very amusing, even when she goes so far as to prostitute her hapless husband to give Hilda a last gasp sexual experience. Kelly Monterrose Mejia (so funny in last season’s Curb Your Enthusiasm as an untalented wannabe actress) is perfectly cast as Macey and Savanna’s younger sibling who is called into duty to save their plan. Gichi Gamba and Patricia French also turn up in small, but memorable roles along the way.

Producers are Marc Goldberg, Sarah Gabriel, Sarah Jessica Parker and Alison Benson. The Signature Entertainment and Capstone Studios production opens today in theaters.

You have been warned, but if you want a few belly laughs, you could do worse.

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Estate’ on Hulu, a Nasty Dark Comedy About Rich People Behaving Deplorably

Where to stream:, 'the regime' series finale recap: triumph of the ill, 'the regime' episode 5 recap: regime change, stream it or skip it: ‘when you finish saving the world’ on netflix, jesse eisenberg's quirky directorial debut, stream it or skip it: ‘murder mubarak’ on netflix, an indian ensemble murder mystery that recalls 'glass onion'.

The Estate – now on Hulu – is a rich-people-behaving-badly comedy rife with, perhaps not unexpectedly, sex, booze and murder. Director James Kapner posts up Happy Endings ’ Eliza Coupe as one of the leads, and flies in rent-a-star Eric Roberts for some purportedly nasty fun. The movie is another among many indies in Hulu’s ever-growing library of under-the-radar films; let’s see if it’s worth seeking out.

THE ESTATE : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Title card: THIS IS A TRUE FABLE. OK. Got it. Clear as mud. Lux (Coupe) and George (Chris Baker, who also wrote the screenplay) live together in a hideous nu-money mansion bathed in neon pink lights. Where exactly they live isn’t specified, but I’d wager it’s Florida. It HAS to be Florida. Could be L.A., but I’d argue that the movie wants us to think it’s in Florida. Anyhow, George is the adult son, Lux is the trophy wife/his stepmom and Marcello (Roberts) is the dad/husband who’s off somewhere being a megarich POS and letting their mansion crumble into disrepair. That’s actually an overstatement – some of the rooms have plastic sheeting masking-taped to walls, so the place just needs some renovating, which is a TRAGEDY if you’re worth nine figures.

Point being, Lux and George are spoiled rotten, but in their minds, they deserve more than just a vintage Porsche, closets full of clothes and not having jobs. I mean, the pool is dirty, it looks like only seven or eight of the bathrooms are fully functioning and they don’t even have a maid . My god, the suffering. Lux and George seem to be the type of people who’ve been bored and idle their whole lives, and therefore became awful human beings. He has empty-headed, featherweight dreams of being invited to an elegant black-and-white socialite party someday. She just wants to get totally railed, often, and laze around all day. They’re best pals with a weird dynamic since they’re technically mother and son; they party and whatnot together, like they’re inseparable, bonded in their superficial attractiveness and moral depravity.

Moral depravity? Beyond all the grotesque privilege? Yes, we’re getting to that. George is gay, so when Lux says, “Get dressed. We’re going dumpster-diving for dick,” it’s at least logical. They hit a dive bar and meet a tattooed side of beef named Joe (Greg Finley), a Boston Townie with a big scar down the side of his face. He goes back to Uglyham Palace and shtoinks Lux to her satisfaction, then hangs out for a bit. When Lux and George gripe about their unBEARable living situation and openly discuss killing Marcello for their fatass inheritance, Joe reveals that he’s a professional hitman. God or the universe or whatever has such a sense of humor, doesn’t it? Especially considering Joe also likes to have sex with men.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Maybe Heathers or The Last Supper , possibly other satires with protagonists who are terrible people that get increasingly murder-y – but absolutely Very Bad Things .

Performance Worth Watching: Spitting ribald and noxious one-liners, Coupe really seems to relish playing an irredeemable human being.

Memorable Dialogue: Joe: You want me to kill him for you?

Lux: Oh my god – that is so . Sweet!

Sex and Skin: A few sex scenes, bare butts, screams of ecstasy, shots of the pool boy blasting water from a long hose, etc.

Our Take: There are moments when The Estate nearly achieves satirical liftoff: When George wonders how they’ll avoid scrutiny by the cops, Lux reminds him, “We’re white, and we’re rich.” And when their deeds indeed get dark, it draws other detestable opportunists out of the woodwork. But the movie doesn’t follow through on these ideas. It’s not a pasquinale of corrupt, amoral Americanism; it rummages through deplorable situations in search of some comedy, and mostly comes up short. We get it – rich people are a-holes. Why? Because lives of luxury nurture amorality, I guess?

At times, one can sense Kapner and Baker reaching for something more than the film’s predictable parade of phallic sight gags, elbow-in-the-ribs soundtrack cues and backstabbing plot twists. Kapner shows occasional flashes of proficient visual storytelling, in a long-take fight sequence, and at the end, when the irritating music gives way to silence and the type of imagery and camera movement copped from auteurs like Paul Thomas Anderson or Nicolas Winding-Refn. But this last-minute condemnation of the characters’ ugly actions feels tacked on to a crass comedy that previously reveled in its bad behavior – including the high psychosexual squick factor of Joe hopping between George and Lux’s beds. That’s yet another element exemplary of the movie as a whole – it’s more of an inch-deep joke than anything that’s going to seriously challenge our sensibilities.

Our Call: SKIP IT. The Estate is a slick dark-comic thriller-ish endeavor, but it’s shallow, tonally uneven and only infrequently funny.

Will you stream or skip the nasty dark comedy #TheEstate on @hulu ? #SIOSI — Decider (@decider) January 21, 2022

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com .

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Screen Rant

The estate review: despite a stellar cast, this dark comedy flops hard.

The Estate had the perfect setup for a great comedy featuring an all-star ensemble of actors adept at humor, but it fails to meet the bare minimum.

The Estate is a dark comedy starring Toni Collette and Anna Faris as down-on-their-luck sisters seeking to benefit from a wealthy aunt’s will. This premise is enough to garner some attention, even more with Death at a Funeral screenwriter Dean Craig, who also serves as The Estate's director, attached. However, this is a terribly unfunny venture, which fails ast the film’s only job.

The Estate follows Macey (Collette) and Savanna (Faris), two sisters struggling with financial issues, among other things. They intend to fight for their family restaurant, but money is hard to come by — until their Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner) becomes the cash cow they desperately need to drain dry. As their scheme unfolds, the sisters encounter more opportunistic family members. Macey and Savanna try to ingratiate themselves with Hilda and learn that their troubles could be solved if Hilda lived out a long-held fantasy. With that being the basis of the film, hilarity is bound to ensue, but it unfortunately does not, dear reader.

Related: Anna Faris & Toni Collette Interview: The Estate

Colette and Faris are no strangers to comedy, but Faris is more susceptible to starring in comedic misfires. While the actresses do a lot to make The Estate work, they cannot overcome a heavily unamusing script. There is a sense that this is supposed to be an edgy dark comedy, but it lacks the ingenuity to be anything other than predictable and lazy. Aside from the leads, there is very little to be said of the film's supporting actors, including David Duchovny and Rosemarie DeWitt , because they are not utilized appropriately.

The overall casting exemplifies how hollow the writing is for the characters and how little is done to craft a dynamic ensemble. Collette has long been a fantastic supporting player, and perhaps she would have been better as a wily side character and not the lead who wrestles with the moral dilemma facing the sisters. On the other hand, Kathleen Turner, and her iconic gravelly voice, are wasted. She is a woman who does not need much to earn roaring laughter, but somehow she is left floundering. It is impossible to underscore how poorly these actresses are employed throughout this so-called comedy.

A successful film about family dynamics can be achieved through several tactics, but the main one is creating interesting characters. Despite how little time they have onscreen or what their first impression is, there needs to be an understanding that if the layers are pulled back, there is something of substance underneath. The Estate's ensemble does not have that. There is also the utter lack of likable characters that does The Estate in. There is no one to root for or even like enough to tolerate their onscreen presence. There is very little drawing the audience in, and the reason begins with the weak script.

Ultimately, The Estate cannot capture the chaotic nature of family greed. It is especially noticeable as there is no shortage of ensemble films that feature similar premises about gaining wealth by competing with family. Craig clearly enjoys writing characters who are needlessly cruel or simply lack self-awareness, but his ideas never fully form into anything more. There is also the displeasure of a poorly made film with lackluster lighting, coloring, and production design that leaves much to be desired. The Estate had the perfect setup for a great comedy featuring an all-star ensemble of actors adept at humor. While The Estate has the right instincts to get the right result, it fails to meet the bare minimum.

Next: Ticket To Paradise Review: Roberts & Clooney Charm In Enjoyably Mediocre Rom-Com

The Estate released in theaters and on VOD Friday, November 4. The film is 96 minutes long and rated R for pervasive language, crude/sexual material, graphic nudity, and brief drug use.

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The Estate review – Toni Collette and A-list cast add class to sweary, crass comedy

Kathleen Turner stars in boorish tale about a wealthy old woman whose family descend to get her money when she is dying

I n 2007 and 2010 British writer-director Dean Craig gave us the farce Death at a Funeral (the latter, a US remake, directed by Neil LaBute), of which I must admit I was never a fan. But there is something in the relentless bad taste in his new all-star black comedy – something in the fanatical emphasis on the importance of the exposed penis in all its unimpressive smallness – that is actually weirdly effective.

Kathleen Turner plays Hilda, a cantankerous, disagreeable and extremely wealthy old lady who is dying of cancer, and finds that her greedy and unctuous nieces and nephews all show up, hoping for a slice of the will. These are Macey (Toni Collette), Savannah (Anna Faris), Richard (David Duchovny) and Beatrice (Rosemarie DeWitt), along with Beatrice’s bewildered husband James (Ron Livingston). To get into Aunt Hilda’s good books, Savannah and Macey track down their aunt’s high-school crush to give her a sentimental reunion with him, but disaster beckons when Hilda is so entranced she decides she wants to marry this old man thus making him her sole beneficiary.

Yet Savannah and Macey have still one chance to sabotage the wedding: they know that her fiance is a registered sex offender in recovery who will relapse if he touches alcohol. So the plan is to get him drunk on the morning of the wedding day and use their younger sister as bait to sexually excite him so will drop his trousers and start vigorously masturbating, just as lovestruck old Aunt Hilda comes into view in her wedding dress. What can possibly go wrong?

This is a very silly and fantastically crass film, and there is something magnificent and horrible in the scene when the old flame’s penis does indeed make an appearance outside his trousers; despite or because of these things it is often funny. Added to which, the very impressive cast give it everything they’ve got; nothing with Collette in it can be bad.

• Comedy films
• Toni Collette
• David Duchovny

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Crass comedy has strong language, sex references, drug use.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Greed and selfishness don't pay off. People often

Most of the characters are greedy and selfish, goi

Majority of characters are White. The one Black ch

Brief physical fight in the opening animation. A l

Opening animation shows pinching of a backside. Se

Frequent strong language includes "c--t," "f---ing

Dungeons & Dragons mentioned frequently.

Brief shot of taking cocaine. Characters drink win

Parents need to know that The Estate is an adult comedy with strong language throughout and sexual and risqué humor. The plot focuses on a group of cousins -- including sisters Savanna (Anna Faris) and Macey (Toni Collette) -- competing for the inheritance of a terminally ill aunt played by Kathleen Turner…

Positive Messages

Greed and selfishness don't pay off. People often see through fakeness and manipulation. However, all these traits are heavily on show in the film.

Positive Role Models

Most of the characters are greedy and selfish, going to increasingly extreme lengths to fool their aunt into thinking they care so they can benefit from her will. They even plan to reunite her with an ex who has a history of exposing himself to people, and place a younger sibling in a position of "bait." Macey occasionally shows signs of a conscience and regret, but ultimately joins the others in order to save her failing business.

Diverse Representations

Majority of characters are White. The one Black character is in a supporting role as a boyfriend and the object of ridicule due to his sensitivity and tendency to cry. A character has cancer and has some physical vulnerability because of it, but shows psychological strength and savviness.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

Brief physical fight in the opening animation. A live-action fight where characters are hit with a walking stick and a gun is fired but does not injure anyone. Mention of throwing coffee in someone's face and kicking them "in the balls." A character has cancer and has a fit involving foaming from the mouth. Some medical equipment is shown. A character dies on-screen and a funeral follows.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Opening animation shows pinching of a backside. Sex workers, porn, and STDs mentioned. Jokes are based around a character who has a history of exposing themselves. Sex-related puns around the name "Dick." Characters go on a mission to get another character "laid." A sleeping character's pants are unzipped without permission and their genitals exposed.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent strong language includes "c--t," "f---ing," "f--k," "f--kboy," "s--t," "shat," "s--thole," "dips--t," "ass," "a--hole," "bitch," and "whore," as well as "goddamn," "t-ts," "balls," "d--k," "freak," and the middle finger gesture. "Jesus" is used as an exclamation.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Brief shot of taking cocaine. Characters drink wine and spirits to the point that a character is inebriated. Morphine taken in a medical context.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Estate is an adult comedy with strong language throughout and sexual and risqué humor. The plot focuses on a group of cousins -- including sisters Savanna ( Anna Faris ) and Macey ( Toni Collette ) -- competing for the inheritance of a terminally ill aunt played by Kathleen Turner . Cancer is mentioned and a character has a fit and later dies on-screen. Jokes are made in poor taste about a man with a history of exposing himself, including a young adult being used as "bait" to catch him in the act. The film includes sexual references and exposed male genitals. The language is strong and frequent, and includes words such as "c--t" and "f--k." Alcohol is consumed to the point of inebriation on one occasion and there is a brief shot of a character taking cocaine. A fight includes a gun being fired, though nobody is hurt. The movie relies on inappropriateness and bad behavior for its humor, which may appeal to some, but it is very much aimed at older teens and adults. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (1)
• Kids say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

Definitely for older teens. Very funny comedy pushing boundaries.

What's the story.

In THE ESTATE, after hearing their wealthy aunt has a terminal illness, sisters Savanna ( Anna Faris ) and Macey ( Toni Collette ) travel to her home hoping to get into her good books -- and her will. But when they discover other family members have had the same idea, a battle commences that will push them to increasingly extreme lengths to get their hands on Aunt Hilda's ( Kathleen Turner ) riches.

Is It Any Good?

Even the all-star cast struggles to keep the humor alive in this sweary family comedy centered around unlikable characters and bad behavior. A few moments land, but The Estate suffers from a lack of warmth and intelligence beyond jokes that may seem daring to some but low-brow poor taste to others.

At the center of the family battle, Turner is as charismatic and watchable as ever. But Oscar-nominee Collette is let down by a part that lacks complexity or depth. Faris, David Duchovny , Rosemarie DeWitt , and Ron Livingston all show up and do their thing, but that thing quickly becomes tiresome. While the humor may proudly cross lines, it never does so with much originality, leaving the plot to tread heavily toward its inevitable conclusion.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the edgy humor in The Estate . Did you find it funny? Did you feel it ever crossed the line? How did it compare to other comedies you've seen? Were there any positive messages in amongst the humor and shock value?

Talk about the strong language in the movie. Did it seem necessary, or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?

How was sex treated in the movie? Was it affectionate? Respectful? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

How were drinking and drug use portrayed? Were there consequences? Did the movie glamorize it?

The movie's central dynamic is created by an estranged family coming together. Can you think of other films that involve a family forced together under unusual circumstances. How do they compare?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 4, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : November 22, 2022
• Cast : Anna Faris , Toni Collette , Kathleen Turner
• Director : Dean Craig
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Signature Entertainment
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters
• Run time : 96 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : pervasive language, crude/sexual material, graphic nudity and brief drug use
• Last updated : April 19, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Estate Movie Review : A well-staged paranormal thriller let down by a poorly-written climax

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lee 1 218 days ago

Waste of time

Waste moviev

sathish 482 days ago

Very very worst movie, No clear Story Explaination in that movie, Actors good acting but movie finishing not good.

User 484 days ago

Worst movie... There is no story... Ondu chooru channagilla... Only thrilling sound.. that's it... There is no conclusion.. and there is no reason why the ghost doing like that...

Rakshantha B 487 days ago

Worst film. No story, there is nothing to watch. Clumsy scenes. It's like simply sarath video in youtube. Waste of 2 hrs. I was waiting for the story till end, but never get anything

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TV and Streaming | ‘Shame of Chicago, Shame of The Nation’ series…

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Things to do, tv and streaming | ‘shame of chicago, shame of the nation’ series premieres thursday on wttw, showing how segregation was built into foundation of real estate.

Chicago Tribune

Contract Buyers League members confront Chicago police after sheriff's police and movers evicted 12 families from their homes in the 9200 block of Eggleston Avenue on March 31, 1970.

Don Casper, Chicago Tribune

The Contract Buyers League was an organization of black homeowners in Chicago who banded together in the 1960s to protest housing discrimination. Unable to get mortgages, they were forced to buy homes on contract at exorbitant prices, and the contracts let speculators evict them if they missed a single payment. The league organized payment strikes, got many contracts renegotiated and collected information that led to the passage of federal anti-discrmination laws. Here, Chicago police carry a man away after a clash as sheriff's police evict four families from their homes in the 8000 block of State Street on April 6, 1970.

Arthur Walker, Chicago Tribune

A crowd confronts police near the evictions of four Eggleston Avenue contract buyers March 31, 1970.

William Yates, Chicago Tribune

Contract Buyers League members leave furnishings at the Chicago Civic Center on March 30, 1970. The items were earlier removed from homes during evictions with the support of police.

Michael Budrys, Chicago Tribune

People celebrate a failed eviction attempt as they block the entrance at 1235 South Keeler Ave. at the Curtis Green residence on March 23, 1970. Because of a large group of protesters, sheriff's police had stopped the planned eviction.

Contract Buyers League members demonstrate in front of the federal building on May 19, 1970.

Charles Osgood, Chicago Tribune

A caravan is ready to depart for the Chicago Civic Center to drop off furnishings from the homes of the four contract buyers who were evicted March 30, 1970.

Contract Buyers League members move furnishings from evicted homes to dump at the Chicago Civic Center on March 30, 1970.

Walter Neal, Chicago Tribune

A sheriff's police bus drives away after officers evicted a contract buyer from 8547 King Drive on May 4, 1970.

Walter Kale, Chicago Tribune

Women hold a demonstration in front of the Cook County Jail on Sept. 13, 1970, to show their support for four female members of the Contract Buyers League who were jailed for contempt of court.

Michael Budrys, Chicago Tribune historical phot

Contract Buyers League members wait outside the Cook County Court for a hearing with Judge John Boyle, chief of the Circuit Court, on Oct. 6, 1969.

Guarded by sheriff's and Chicago police, movers remove belongings from a contract home at 9520 Emerald Ave. during an eviction March 30, 1970.

Chicago police stand guard at the end of the 9500 block of Emerald Avenue on March 30, 1970, as they try to prevent crowds from gathering to stop evictions, as had happened in the past.

Quentin C. Dodt/Chicago Tribune

Clyde Ross stands near renovated homes in the 3300 block of West Flournoy Street during a block club party Aug. 26, 1972. Ross was vice president of the Contract Buyers League and received a yearlong fellowship from the Adlai Stevenson Institute.

Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune

Clyde Ross, 92, still lives in the home he purchased under contract in the 3300 block of West Flournoy Street.

Filmmaker and native Chicagoan Bruce Orenstein guesses that 98%, maybe even 99%, of city residents don’t know the full history of segregation in Chicago.

“Maybe they’ll know a little bit,” he said. “But universally, I think it’s eye-opening to most people … the roots of race and the scaffolding of segregation that got built decade after decade.”

In 2021, Orenstein gave us a glimpse of his four-part documentary series, “ Shame of Chicago, Shame of the Nation ,” with the first episode, “ The Color Tax: The Origins of the Modern-Day Racial Wealth Gap .”

The piece centers on homes that were sold to Black families through installment contracts — for much more than white buyers would pay — and how and why contract-sellers were allowed to do it, plus what happened when Black families organized to fight back through the Contract Buyers League.

Now, the full project is complete and airing on WTTW-Ch. 11 on Thursdays through May 9. And if the “shame,” in the first episode raises your blood pressure, Orenstein — creator, writer, director and producer of the work — is hoping the rest of the series kick-starts a call to action from everyone.

“It’s a series about the history of housing segregation … 120 years of racial segregation … it raises issues of reparations, how to repair and heal,” Orenstein said. “There’s no easy answers as to how to solve the issue.”

The series includes people such as Elizabeth Wood , who ran the Chicago Housing Authority from 1937 to 1954 and waged a major battle in the late 1940s and early 1950s to build quality public housing that was racially integrated.

“Public housing was meant to be a real foundation for growing middle class or working class,” Orenstein said. “And after Elizabeth Wood was fired for trying to integrate, the city and the Chicago Housing Authority abandoned any notion of integration through all kinds of federal policies and everything else.”

Jesse Binga was a man who saved money and eventually started to buy what would become a real estate empire and founded the Binga Bank in 1908, the first Black-owned bank in Chicago. Binga had his home firebombed several times.

And then there was Arthur Falls , a Northwestern University trained physician and activist who helped desegregate Deerfield and a number of Chicagoland hospitals.

Other names in the series are those of architects who linked racism to real estate —names such as Frederick Babcock , Richard Ely and Nathan William MacChesney , real estate appraisers, economists and attorneys who codified racial discrimination into local and federal policy.

Chris Jenkins, a former Washington Post reporter and editor, is a producer for “Shame of Chicago, Shame of The Nation” who co-wrote the second episode. He said he was drawn into the project through the humanity of those in the Black community.

Jenkins’ work on the documentary speaks to the shift in the real estate industry after the 1919 Race Riot in Chicago.

“We’re trying to name names of the people who did this,” Jenkins said. “It wasn’t just nameless, faceless people — these people were intentional. These are the same people who need to have their names named in the same way that (Birmingham, Alabama, commissioner of public safety) Bull Connor is known to everybody in this country because of the hoses and the dogs and so forth.”

While doing research, Jenkins said he was taken aback by the coordination and strategy it took to connect race and real estate.

“As a Black filmmaker, I want to keep letting white America know about the social construction of their wealth, but I also want to remind Black people what we went through and what we did to fight,” Jenkins said. “It’s for political white America, the historical record and to deepen our understanding of the social engineering in the mid part of the 20th century to create wealth for white people and continuing that conversation, to continue to give us language.”

Adrienne Brown, associate professor at the University of Chicago and co-editor of “Race and Real Estate,” an interdisciplinary collection rethinking the narratives of property and citizenship, applauds Orenstein and Jenkins on “Shame of Chicago, Shame of The Nation.”

“There’s a reason that it’s been difficult for this story to be told because it wasn’t designed to have spectacular moments that we could capture on camera,” Brown said. “It was a story that was engineered to happen behind the scenes, in back rooms, in contracts where the fine print is very small. So much of the story is about the things that don’t look spectacular on the outside, that have such deep consequences in the way we live and the way we live now.

“This documentary really shows that Chicago is not just a place where segregation happened, but in some ways the intellectual and bureaucratic headquarters for thinking about how to carry it out,” Brown said. “It was a real brain trust in Chicago starting at the very turn of the 20th century, thinking about the problems that Blacks posed for real estate values and coming up with different ways of thinking about that as salesmen from the realtor point of view, as an intellectual problem being studied at UChicago, and the way the different neighborhood associations were also trying out different ways of keeping Blacks out of their neighborhoods.”

Orenstein said the plan for the documentary was to create an accessible, go-to educational tool. He said when people know the history, they are better informed as to how to address the challenges that the history created.

“When you think about it, where does Chicago have concentrated white poverty? It doesn’t, and over a 100-year period that has a tremendous impact on a population’s opportunity to generate wealth and be able to thrive and live in healthy communities and live healthy lives,” Orenstein said.

Orenstein, who worked as a community organizer for 15 years, said he hopes the documentary makes a difference. Viewer guides and accompanying materials will be accessible to the public. He envisions a robust campaign to promote the series after its run on WTTW, with community talks.

The Chicago Association of Realtors held a screening April 11 at the DuSable Museum. Orenstein is hopeful real estate agents and bankers will incorporate the lessons of the series into their industry orientations.

“This is the first step, facing up to the past,” Orenstein said. “If you look at what shapes Chicago, its whole history, it’s one of the most important influences on the city. You have the lake, that shaped Chicago. You have skyscrapers. You have its politics.

“Race has shaped Chicago and has had more of an influence on Chicago than virtually any other single factor,” he said. “To be literate about how that happened is what we hope this project will offer and hopefully, in years to come, it’ll inform this generation and future ones.”

The “Shame of Chicago, Shame of The Nation” series premieres at 9 p.m. Thursday on WTTW.

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