House Arrest (1996 film)

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House Arrest
House arrest movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHarry Winer
Written byMichael Hitchcock
Produced byHarry Winer
Judith A. Polone
Starring
Narrated byKyle Howard
CinematographyUeli Steiger
Edited byRonald Roose
Music byBruce Broughton
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
August 14, 1996
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million[citation needed]
Box office$7,032,782[1]

House Arrest is a 1996 American comedy film starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Pollak. It was directed by Harry Winer. It boasts a very thorough supporting cast in Jennifer Tilly, Wallace Shawn, Caroline Aaron, Christopher McDonald, Sheila McCarthy and an up-and-coming Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The film was released on August 14, 1996 and went on to gross just over $7 million at the box office. The film was panned by critics.

The film was shot at various locations in the U.S. states of California and Ohio. Monrovia, California was the location for several exterior house scenes while most interior shots were done at the CBS/Radford lot in Studio City, California. The story was set in Defiance, Ohio, although another town, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, actually doubled for it.

Plot[]

The Beindorf family, Ned (Kevin Pollak), Janet (Jamie Lee Curtis), Grover (Kyle Howard), and Stacy (Amy Sakasitz), live a supposedly happy typical family life in the suburbs of Defiance, Ohio. In fact Ned and Janet are not happy and are separating, although they tell Grover and Stacy it is not a divorce. Grover and Stacy first try to recreate their parents honeymoon in the basement, but this fails to bring any happiness into their relationship. Grover and Stacy then leave the basement, telling Ned and Janet they must get another surprise for them upstairs. They go up, close the door, and nail it shut. They vow to keep it so until Ned and Janet work out their problems and get their marriage back on its feet.

The next day, Grover tells his best friend, Matt Finley (Mooky Arizona), what he has done and T.J. Krupp (Russel Harper), the wealthy local bully, overhears them. Matt goes over to the Beindorfs' house to look at Grover and Stacy's work and is impressed. T.J. shows up to have a look and actually installs a newer, more secure door to keep Ned and Janet trapped. He and Matt then leave to collect their parents and bring them there to lock them up as well. Matt's father, Vic (Wallace Shawn), never keeps a wife for more than two years and T.J.'s father, Donald (Christopher McDonald), does not treat his wife, Gwenna (Sheila McCarthy), well. Matt also brings his bulldog, Cosmo, and two younger brothers, Jimmy (Alex Seitz) and Teddy (Josh Wolford) (who come armed with sleeping bags) and T.J. brings his boa constrictor, Spot. When Grover asks what is going on in response to his friends setting up camp at his house, T.J. replies with "Our parents could be down there for months!"

Ned and Janet almost talk Grover into letting them out, but Donald (who's an attorney) threatens him with legal action. Grover finds out that his dream girl, Brooke Figler (Jennifer Love Hewitt), is also having parental problems: her mother, Cindy (Jennifer Tilly), acts like a teenager, going so far as to trying to hang out with Brooke's friends. Grover invites her to lock Cindy up with the rest. The children begin to help their parents solve their problems. They try to find a way out of the basement while getting along and seeing what each of their problems are. The children also work out their differences with each other above. They eventually give in and up to the police, and their parents are set free. It is revealed at the end that Ned and Janet reconciled and took a second honeymoon to Hawaii. Vic and Louise's marriage lasted past the two-year mark and they are expecting another child. Donald and Gwenna got divorced, though she later went back to law school and they opened up a law firm together. Cindy started dating other men instead of intruding on Brooke's dates. Also, Grover and Brooke became sweethearts and she passionately kisses him in front of their classmates at school. However, he concluded if his parents ever try to get divorced again he might think of locking them in the attic.

Cast[]

Reception[]

Critical response[]

The film received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 10% based on 30 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Constructed out of cliches, thinly written characters, and fundamental misunderstandings of human nature, House Arrest is a dull (and borderline irresponsible) waste of a talented cast."[2] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.[3]

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 0 out of 4 and called the film: "One of the year's worst movies... at least I hope so, or it's going to be a very bad year."[4] Joe Leydon of Variety magazine called it "A tepid and repetitious comedy."[5]

Awards[]

  • Young Artist Awards
    • Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor – Kyle Howard (nominated)
    • Best Song – Too Good To Wake From – (nominated)
    • Best Score – Midville USA – Bruce Broughton (nominated)

References[]

  1. ^ "House Arrest (1996)". Box Office Mojo.
  2. ^ "House Arrest (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  3. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  4. ^ Siskel, Gene (May 29, 2013). "FRESH COMIC ROMANCE TAKES POLISHED 'TIN CUP' BEYOND WORLD OF PRO GOLF". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19.
  5. ^ Leydon, Joe (12 August 1996). "House Arrest". Variety.

External links[]

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