''House Arrest'' is a 1996 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Harry Winer Harry Winer (born May 4, 1947, in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.) is an American film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. In addition, he is an Associate Arts Professor in the Undergraduate Film and Television Department at New York Uni ...

, written by

Michael Hitchcock Michael Hitchcock (born July 28, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and television producer. Early life Hitchcock received his Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Un ...

, and starring

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Grump ...

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American–Canadian actress and poker player. Known for her distinctive voice and comedic timing, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two MTV Movie Awards and three Sat ...

Christopher McDonald Christopher McDonald (born February 15, 1955) is an American film, television, theatre and voice actor. McDonald is best known for playing the villainous professional golfer Shooter McGavin in the 1996 comedy ''Happy Gilmore''. Other notable ...

Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), ...

, and

Ray Walston Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...

with supporting roles done by

Kyle Howard Kyle Alan Howard (born April 13, 1978) is an American actor. Early life Howard grew up in Loveland, Colorado. He has worked in both film and television. His film career includes '' House Arrest'' alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, ''Skeletons'' with ...

, Amy Sakasitz, Mooky Arizona, Russel Harper, and an up-and-coming

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series ''Kids I ...

. It tells the story of two children who trap their parents in their basement upon their plans for a separation as the other children they know get involved by trapping their respective problem parents as well. The film was released on August 14, 1996 and went on to gross just over $7 million at the

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

. The film was panned by critics. The film was shot at various locations in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

was the location for several exterior house scenes while most interior shots were done at the CBS/Radford lot in

Studio City, California Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

. The story was set in

Defiance, Ohio Defiance is a city in and the county seat of Defiance County, Ohio, United States, about southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo and northeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in Ohio's northwestern corner. The population was 16,494 at the 2010 United State ...

, although another town,

Chagrin Falls, Ohio Chagrin Falls is a village in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and is a suburb of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio's Cleveland-Akron-Canton metropolitan area, the 19th-largest Combined Statistical Area nationwide. The village was established and h ...

, actually doubled for it.

Plot

, the Beindorf family, consisting of Ned, Janet, Grover, and Stacy, live a supposedly happy typical family life in the

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

. In fact, Ned and Janet are not happy and are separating, although they tell Grover and Stacy it is not a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

. Grover and Stacy first try to recreate their parents'

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...

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 what he has done and T.J. Krupp, 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, never keeps a wife for more than two years and is on his latest wife Louise. T.J.'s father Donald does not treat his wife Gwenna well. Matt also brings his bulldog Cosmo and two little brothers Jimmy and Teddy 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 threatens him with legal action. Grover finds out that his dream girl Brooke Figler is also having parental problems: her mother Cindy acts awkward, 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 The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

led by Chief Rocco. Their parents are set free. Some time later, Ned and Janet reconcile and took a second honeymoon to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Vic and Louise's marriage lasted past the two-year mark and they are expecting another child. Donald and Gwenna get divorced, though she later goes back to law school and they open up a law firm together. Cindy starts dating other guys 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. He concludes that 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 Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

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." Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A to F.

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' 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."

Joe Leydon Joseph Patrick Michael Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for ''Variety'' since 1990, he is the author of ''Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See'' (Michael Wiese Prod ...

Variety magazine ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

called it "A tepid and repetitious comedy."

Awards

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

** Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor –

(nominated) ** Best Song – Too Good To Wake From – Zendetta (nominated) ** Best Score – Midville USA –

Bruce Broughton Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed man ...

(nominated)

References

External links

* * * * {{Mojo title, housearrest, House Arrest 1996 films 1990s teen films American comedy films 1990s English-language films 1996 comedy films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films set in Ohio Films directed by Harry Winer Rysher Entertainment films Films scored by Bruce Broughton 1990s American films