House Arrest (film)

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 November 27, 1996 and went on to gross just over $7 million at the box office. It was widely panned by critics, particularly Chicago critic Gene Siskel, who loathed it and gave it zero stars out of 4.

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 film begins by showing the Beindorfs, Janet (Jamie Lee Curtis), Ned (Kevin Pollak), Grover (Kyle Howard), and Stacy (Amy Sakasitz), a supposedly happy family living a typical family life in the suburbs of Defiance, Ohio. It is revealed that Janet and Ned are not happy and in fact separating although they tell their children 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. The children then leave the basement telling their parents 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 their parents work out their problems.

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 the conversation. Matt goes over to the Beindorfs' house to look at the children's work and is impressed. T.J. shows up to have a look and actually installs a newer, more secure door to keep the parents trapped. He and Matt then leave to collect their parents and bring them to the Beindorfs' house 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!"

Janet and Ned almost talk Grover into letting them all 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 of the parents. 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 boyfriend and girlfriend and she passionately kisses him in front of their classmates at school for a very long time, causing a slightly awkward moment for the bystanders. However, he concluded if his parents ever try to get divorced again he might think of locking them in the attic.

Cast

 * Jamie Lee Curtis as Janet Beindorf
 * Kevin Pollak as Ned Beindorf
 * Jennifer Tilly as Cindy Figler
 * Wallace Shawn as Vic Finley
 * Caroline Aaron as Louise Finley
 * Christopher McDonald as Donald Krupp
 * Sheila McCarthy as Gwenna Krupp
 * Kyle Howard as Grover Beindorf
 * Amy Sakasitz as Stacy Beindorf
 * Jennifer Love Hewitt as Brooke Figler
 * Mooky Arizona as Matt Finley
 * Herbert Russell (as Russel Harper) as T.J. Krupp
 * Ray Walston as Chief Rocco
 * Ben Stein as Ralph Doyle
 * Alex Seitz as Jimmy Finley
 * Josh Wolford as Teddy Finley

Reception
The film received negative reviews from critics and currently holds a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 30 reviews. The 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".

Awards and nominations

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