Une baraque à tout casser (1986)

A young couple struggles to repair a hopelessly dilapidated house.

Director:

Richard Benjamin

Writer:

David Giler

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Walter Fielding
Shelley Long	...	Anna Crowley
Alexander Godunov	...	Max Beissart
Maureen Stapleton	...	Estelle
Joe Mantegna	...	Art Shirk
Philip Bosco	...	Curly
Josh Mostel	...	Jack Schnittman
Yakov Smirnoff	...	Shatov
Carmine Caridi	...	Brad Shirk
Brian Backer	...	Ethan
Billy Lombardo	...	Benny
Mia Dillon	...	Marika
John Van Dreelen	...	Carlos (as John van Dreelen)
Douglass Watson	...	Walter Fielding, Sr.
Lucille Dobrin	...	Macumba Lady

Storyline

Walter Fielding and Anna Crowley must start looking for a new house--but they can't afford much. This changes when they meet a lonely con artist who sells the a beautiful mansion at a ridiculously-low price. The catch: the second they move into the house, it falls apart, starting with the stairway collapsing, to the bathtub falling through the floor, to the chimney eventually falling into the house. Finally, they must renovate the house before the frame collapses, but the renovations also prove disastrous.

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Plot Keywords:

thin legs | slender legs | house | dilapidated house | renovation | 

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Taglines:

For everyone who's ever been deeply in Love or deeply in debt.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Tous publics

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was the first produced screenplay of screenwriter David Giler in five years. Giler's last at the time had been "Sans retour (1981)."

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Goofs

When the raccoon scares Anna, she nearly walks off the second level after the stairs had just collapsed. Walter is hanging where the stairs were and says that Anna is standing on his fingers but she is too far back for that. It's only in the following scene that her feet are overhanging the edge and on Walter's fingers.

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Quotes

Walter: Ahh, home crap home!

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts of 5 seconds to secure a 'PG' rating. All cuts were waived later in 1986 when the film was re-rated with a '15' certificate for home video.

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Connections

Spoofed in Denis la malice sème la panique (1998)

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Soundtracks

The Wedding Contract
From "Lucia Di Lammermor"
By Gaetano Donizetti
Text by Salvatore Cammarano (as Salvadore Cammarano)
Act II - Scene 6; Act III - Scene 6
Performed by London Symphony Orchestra (as The London Symphony Orchestra)
The Ambrosian Singers
Conducted by Thomas Schippers
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.

User Reviews

You may die of STOMACH FAILURE!!!

You will laugh so hard!!! The scene in which the bathtub falls through the rotting floor and shatters is the funniest scene in a ton of funny scenes!!! I remember this in the theatre when I was 15 and I almost peed my pants during that tub scene!!!

Tom Hanks is the greatest!!!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Chinese Russian Portuguese

Release Date:

23 July 1986 (France)

Also Known As:

Une baraque à tout casser

Filming Locations:

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens - 3251 S Miami Ave, Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,344,555, 30 March 1986

Gross USA:

$37,499,651

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$54,999,651

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amblin Entertainment, U-Drive Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1