House Arrest (1996)

High-schooler Grover Beindorf and his younger sister Stacy decide that their parents, Janet and Ned, are acting childishly when they decide to divorce after 18 years of marriage, so they ... See full summary »

Director:

Harry Winer

Writer:

Michael Hitchcock

Stars:

Kyle Howard, Herbert Russell, Jamie Lee Curtis

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kyle Howard	...	Gregory Alan 'Grover' Beindorf
Herbert Russell	...	T.J. Krupp (as Russel Harper)
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Janet Beindorf
Kevin Pollak	...	Ned Beindorf
Amy Sakasitz	...	Stacy Beindorf
Mooky Arizona	...	Matt Finley
Caroline Aaron	...	Louise Finley
Alex Seitz	...	Jimmy Finley
Josh Wolford	...	Teddy Finley
Wallace Shawn	...	Victor 'Vic' Finley
Jennifer Love Hewitt	...	Brooke Figler
Patrika Darbo	...	Cafetaria Cashier
Ray Walston	...	Chief Rocco
Christopher McDonald	...	Donald Krupp
Colleen Camp	...	Mrs. Burtis

Storyline

High-schooler Grover Beindorf and his younger sister Stacy decide that their parents, Janet and Ned, are acting childishly when they decide to divorce after 18 years of marriage, so they lock them up in the basement until they'll sort out their problems. Their schoolfriends also decide to do the same with their parents to solve their respective problems.

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Plot Keywords:

basement | divorce | children | operation game | juvenile hall | 

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Taglines:

Home is where the hostages are.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Areszt domowy

Filming Locations:

Monrovia, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$3,121,824 (USA) (16 August 1996)

Gross:

$6,970,578 (USA) (18 October 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Rysher Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Mr. Krupp gets through the concrete, the appearance is given that he'd been digging straight through, however when Mr. Finley goes through and gets stuck in the concrete, he's coming up through a hole made in the concrete lain ground level, rather than perpendicular to the ground. In addition to it being a factual goof, given the previous scene, it would also be physically impossible for him to climb through, seeing as his back would have to be bent at a 90 degree angle at one point in order to accomplish this feat.

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Quotes

[to their parents]
Matt Finley: Just one thing, we don't take sociology.
T.J. Krupp: You guys should pay more attention.

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Crazy Credits

As the closing credits roll, we are shown the various family members in Hawaii hula-dancing, often in native garb or something close to it, singly and in various combinations. The footage ends with Chief Rocco (Ray Walston) stumbling out of some bushes with a set of night-vision goggles with which he tries to observe the rest of the cast (in full daylight).

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Connections

Features Centipede (1980)

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Soundtracks

"That's Rich"
Performed by Paul Walberg

User Reviews

Great! (for kids) just about OK (for adults)

This is a kid's movie. What else could it be, with this story?

A young boy (and his sister) begin top suspect that their parents' marriage is going down the drain. As things keep getting worse, and the words "temporary separation" begin to crawl into conversations, the kids decide to stage the ultimate trick: They invite their parents into a party in the cellar, celebrating their anniversary of marriage, and at the end of the evening, they nail the door shut and lock them in. To solve their problems. Things start getting out of hand pretty quickly when a friend and the school bully get wind of this, and decide to dump their own parents (with their own problems) into the same cellar, as well. Soon, three sets of parents and one stepmother are all locked in, while the kids begin to party upstairs....

See? Not exactly a mature plot, is it? This is a kids' movie, and as such it is great. Adults will probably find it bearable - at least I did. It's harmless fun...