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Houston's Michael Huffington breaks into film and gives a rare interview

Michael Huffington, producer of "Father vs. Son"

Houston's Michael Huffington is a scion of one of the city's most prominent oil families and a former Republican congressman from California. He's back in Houston after a long Hollywood hiatus, but not straying far — his latest incarnation is as movie producer, most recently for Joe Ballarini's Father vs. Son. Huffington even makes a cameo appearance in the movie (drawing enthusiastic applause at the AMC 30 debut), which also stars Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet.

Father vs. Son premiered at Worldfest Friday and won the first-ever Houston Film Critics Association Critic’s Choice Award for Best World Premiere of a Feature Film. Director Joe Ballarini sat down with his producer to recap the experience and provided the interview exclusively to CultureMap.

Joe Ballarini: What got you excited about making Father vs. Son?

Michael Huffington: As we all know 2009 was a very tough year financially for most people in this country. So I was eager for us to make a comedy so that people could go to the theater and have a good laugh.

JB: Does it help to finance a movie in order to secure a role in it?

MH: Let me say this. It certainly doesn’t hurt.

JB: Honestly, I always imagined you in the role. The character’s name you play is Mr. Harrington That should tell you right there that (co-writer) Paul Wolff and I were thinking of you when we wrote the movie.

MH: I figured I was cast because you got me for free! Also I have to think you saw untapped acting talent that was just waiting to explode on the big screen.

JB: I made you grow a mustache for the role. What was that like to have a mustache for so long? Did it help you get into character?

MH: It took me two months to grow that mustache, and it was commented on by everyone. My straight friends thought it looked cool. My gay friends thought the opposite. And my kids wished I had never grown it. But it definitely helped me to play the no-nonsense New Yorker.

JB: The stache made you very stately. Which is harder: Politics or acting?

MH: Both require skill. In politics I loved giving live interviews in front of the camera. However you aren’t allowed second takes. At least in film we get a second chance and a third and a fourth. I don’t plan to run for office again, but if anyone has an acting job for me I am definitely available.

JB: Did you always want to make movies?

MH: No. I always wanted to be a Senator. But we know how that turned out. So after my political career I decided to actively engage in the movie business. It took awhile to find my niche but I now feel I am on a roll and loving it. I have two documentaries and two feature films in the works and a few others in development.

JB: Talk a little bit about our rehearsal process.

MH: Since you generously gave me a role with no spoken lines, I had to figure out a way to speak through my facial expressions. So I spent hours trying out different looks in front of the mirror until I got the expressions I wanted to deliver in front of the camera. Next movie I want a speaking role…

JB: You got it. The movie is about the trials and tribulations of love, no matter the age range. What are your thoughts on this?

MH: Well I have always dated younger people my entire life. Sometimes the age difference has been a few months and other times a few decades. All I know is that love has no age boundaries. But it certainly has trials and tribulations.

JB: What was it like sharing the stage with Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet?

MH: Who can’t laugh watching Eric in action. He is bigger than life. I haven’t laughed so hard in years. It was an honor sharing the stage with him. And off stage he is one intelligent and informed guy. We had some great conversations. And I now watch Modern Family every Wednesday night. He is a real star.

JB: I remember he did one take that was so funny that the crew literally broke out into applause. And, I have to mention that Stonestreet is the reason we found Josh Dean who plays Grant. When Stonestreet read the script, he said, I have the perfect guy for you — Josh Dean.

MH: Josh is one funny dude. I am sure he goes to sleep at night with a smile on his face, and his dreams are probably hilarious. He was great to work with on set.

JB: And for ego-boosting reasons, I must ask: What was it like being directed by Joe Ballarini?

MH: Since I first met you back in 1998 when we were working on a student movie at USC I have known that you were a very talented and creative guy. But I had never seen you direct a feature film until Father vs. Son. What impressed me the most was your sincerity in working with everyone on the production from the top actors to the lowest paid crew. You respected each one of us for what we could contribute to the film. You brought us all together, and made the production a successful and fun team effort.

JB: So. He’s a genius, right? Can we just put that down? I think audiences will be very impressed with your acting debut, Mike. You turned in a hilarious performance. And I greatly appreciate you cutting your fee to be in the movie.

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Movie Review

Over-the-top thriller The Housemaid revels in camp, chaos, and excess

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.

Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.

Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).

After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.

Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.

The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.

Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.

Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.

The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.

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The Housemaid is now playing in theaters.

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