House Arrest (1996)

A group of children, desperate to keep their various parents from getting divorces, kidnap them and hold them prisoner in a basement in order to force them to reconcile.

Director:

Harry Winer

Writer:

Michael Hitchcock

Stars:

Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Pollak, Kyle Howard

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 Seltz-Wald	...	Jimmy Finley (as Alex Seitz)
Josh Wolford	...	Teddy Finley
Wallace Shawn	...	Victor 'Vic' Finley
Jennifer Love Hewitt	...	Brooke Figler
Patrika Darbo	...	Cafeteria 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:

wanting parents back together | motherhood | police officer | house arrest | basement | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie has become a cult film

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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

Stacy Beindorf: Good morning, Chief Rocco!
Chief Rocco: Aren't your parents going to work today?
Grover: Uh, no, they got the bug that's been going around.
Chief Rocco: I didn't know there was one.
Stacy Beindorf: Yeah it's really bad... especially for old people.

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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 Falling Hare (1943)

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Soundtracks

Sesame Street Theme
Written by Bruce Hart (as Hart), Jon Stone (as Stone) and Joe Raposo (as Raposo)
Published by Sesame Street, Inc.
Performed by Typical

User Reviews

It's a kids movie, people!

Frankly I don't understand why people like to say "this wouldn't happen in real life" to put down a movie. If all we saw movies about were things that happened, it would be very dull indeed. Imagine it: "Harry Goes To The Mailbox, Discovers Bills!" But I digress. For a kid's movie, especially one that never made it to the silver screen as another commenter noted, I think House Arrest is quite good. It's cute, it's warmfuzzy, pretty funny at times (if you can pretend to be the 8-year-old that you once were); it has well-spoken kids and an emotional message and plot, unlike a lot of trash that poses as good family entertainment (read: Home > Alone! Spy Kids!). To put it bluntly, it's good, wholesome entertainment and if you have kids you won't find it a mental sacrifice to watch it with them. If I ever have kids, I will put this on my shelf.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

House Arrest

Filming Locations:

Monrovia, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,275,808, 18 August 1996

Gross USA:

$7,032,782

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,032,782

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Rysher Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital Dolby Digital (1998 Re-Release) SDDS (1998 Re-Release) DTS (Digital DTS Sound) (1998 Re-Release)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1