Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-20 21:50:31

It's perfectly OK to laugh in the face of adversity.

Here is one of the most unusual movies I've ever seen. Grover and his sister Stacey put together a home movie featuring some of their parents' best moments as an eighteenth anniversary present. They soon find out that something is wrong after their parents give them the news of their impending seperation. After his best friend "tips him off", so to speak, Grover and Stacey come up with a novel plan.The kids decorate the basement to look like Hawaii, where their parents spent their honeymoon. But after Mom and Dad start quibbling over the anniversary cake, Grover decides to take matters into his own hands by locking his parents in the basement. He figures that after a night alone together, Mom and Dad will be able to work out their problems once and for all.It doesn't work that way, of course. The hilarity level of the movie just gets higher and higher after some of Grover's friends lock their parents in the basement with his own; what starts with a "prison sentence" turns into a all-encompassing group therapy session as all of the parents get to know one another while plotting a means of escape.The reason I'm only giving this movie four stars is because of the happy Hollywood ending. Not to give more of the plot away, but the plan winds up working, which is not at all typical of real divorce cases. I'm also tempted to call this film a black comedy, since watching it caused me to laugh at things which I wouldn't normally find funny. But maybe that can be a good thing sometimes.

Special-K88 2012-05-19 23:54:58

good actors make it worthwhile

After learning that his parents are getting separated, a teenage boy isso shocked and distraught that he recruits his younger sister to helplock them in the basement in the desperate hope that they'll actuallytalk out their problems and come to a rational solution. It starts outas a good idea, until his friends bring over their parents and lockthem into the basement as well. Film's premise is far-fetched andprotracted, to be sure, but it benefits from a talented cast(especially Howard), believable characters, and a good sense of familyvalues. Not easy to take seriously, but well-intended and not bad forwhat it is. **½

2012-05-17 03:38:52

Fantastical

This review is from: House Arrest [VHS] (VHS Tape) Love this movie so much! it's got amazing actors: kyle howard, jamie lee curtis, jennifer love hewitt, etc. FANTASTIC concept too, after watching this movie, i want to put my parents in the basement for a few days!! This movie is a must see:)

smithstrouble 2012-05-16 10:58:10

Its Good

No matter how you beat around the bush this movie is still a goodmovie. Even though at times it can be sappy, like when Grover has histemper tantrum (which was absolutely funny) its still cute. My favoritepart would have to be when the parents are dancing, it was so cute. Butthen you want to wonder what was going on with Mark's folks I mean atone point I was trying to understand why they were looking like theyhad sex the that night. When TJ started playing " Its Not Unusual" yousee their heads pop out. Why would they be having sex when other peoplewere around, thats kind of weird. Another thing it was kind of grimyhow the fist thing that Mrs. Beindorf notices about her husband is hiscar. what was up with the nosy behind neighbor? These scenes reallymade you really want to go "hmmmmmm"? I love the part when Mr. Beindorftells his wife that Mr. Krump would be his attorney. Krump looks at thewife and turns to Beindorf and say " I can get you the house, but kidsmight be a problem" All in all this movie is still good.

Larry 2012-05-12 23:48:12

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT

jlh is hot jlh is hot jlh is hot jlh is hot jrnifer love hewitt is hot,hot,hot,hot jennifer love hewitt is hot

Extraordinary Machine 2012-05-12 19:00:21

It's unlikely that the events in 'House Arrest' would ever happen, but the film is still frothy and fun...

House Arrest Two kids are shocked when their parents announce that they areseparating. As a last resort, the siblings decide to lock them in thebasement and not let them out until their marital problems are solved.However, the friends of the children soon find out about what they areup to, and force their parents into the basement as well. Will thegroup of couples be able to sort out their relationships, or is thisjust one really bad plan gone wrong? Okay, first of all, it's unlikely that the events in 'House Arrest'would ever happen, but the film is still frothy and fun. Even thoughsome of the acting is highly irritating, the children (apart from themain guy) are very funny, as is Jamie Lee Curtis. While everythingabout the film is far too predictable and safe (even for a familyfilm), there's an energy about the production that is impossible toresist. A guilty pleasure.~ 6/10 ~

2012-05-11 07:07:33

Awesome Family Fun!!!

If you are a child who has had their parents split up, then you'll probably enjoy this. Grover and Stacy Beindorf are the children of Janet and Ned. On their Anniversary, the kids throw them a party in the basement. Then they find out that their parents are spliiting up, they decide to lock them in the basement until the talk out their problems. When other kids hear about it at school, they decide to lock up their parents with the Beindorfs as well. Will this bring the parents closer together and rekindle their love? I highly recommend HOUSE ARREST!!!

2012-05-10 15:30:44

Kind of annoying!

I use to think it was a cool movie when I first saw it a few times but then I started to get sick of it. The kids in the movie started to get noisy and annoying and I just wanted to turn off the TV. It's not a bad movie but it comes on HBO every once in awhile and that what gets annoying about it.

G-Man-25 2012-05-06 20:03:48

So-So

A lightweight family comedy that also tries to impart some halfway seriousmessages about the dynamics of parents and children and keeping the familytogether. While the movie has its heart in the right place, it's alsofar-fetched and not terribly funny and at times too talky. Still, apassable time-killer (especially for kids), with a most agreeablecast.

Brandon 2012-05-06 05:03:01

A fun ride, from beginning to end.

Although it's not the best movie ever made, it is fun from the beginning tothe end. It's funny, fast-paced, and never dull.Jamie Lee and the cast are great.7 out of 10.See it for fun.

erisynne 2012-05-03 13:51:01

It's a kids movie, people!

Frankly I don't understand why people like to say "this wouldn'thappen in real life" to put down a movie. If all we saw moviesabout 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 itto the silver screen as another commenter noted, I think HouseArrest is quite good. It's cute, it's warmfuzzy, pretty funny at times(ifyou can pretend to be the 8-year-old that you once were); it haswell-spoken kids and an emotional message and plot, unlike a lotof trash that poses as good family entertainment (read: Home> Alone! Spy Kids!). To put it bluntly, it's good, wholesomeentertainment and if you have kids you won't find it a mentalsacrifice to watch it with them. If I ever have kids, I will put this onmy shelf.

2012-05-02 21:37:53

Guilty Pleasure

I am so glad this movie is finally available in widescreen! It has definitely been a guilty pleasure of mine for some time. They really assembled a great cast here. And the premise is cool. Granted it's not really plausible but who cares, it's just a movie!

lumb hoo hoo 2012-04-28 06:51:59

Great Late Night Movie

Watch it at 1am at night. Perfectly innocent family fun. Full of cliche, but don't we just love cliche anyway? And I was wondering who that girl was. The children play admirably. Go see it, and it will put a smile on your face.

carmenjonze-1 2012-04-28 00:20:41

ALL of these characters should be in lockdown, and not in any basement

These people's awful kids included.Just to be clear on where I'm coming from, I booed when Janet and Nedsucked face at the end. And that stupid, stupidstupidstupidBrooke-Grover cliché, come on. I hate movies set in the suburbs because I despise the suburbs. I hatemovies about screeching, arguing, suburban married people who hate eachother, because I hate screeching suburban married conventionalistdumbasses who hate each other. House Arrest was a 90 minute reminder ofwhy I don't understand and ultimately don't care why these types ofpeople marry each other, and hope they ALL get divorced and give theworld some much needed peace.So I guess we're back to Carmenjonze's First Law of UnwatchableMovies...a telling overabundance of violins, flutes and pianos in thescore was the first and enduring indicator of just how bad House Arrestis going to get. The fact that it oh-so-self-consciously opens withCaptain and Tenille's "Love Will Keep Us Together" -- and KEEPS PLAYINGIT EVEN AFTER THAT STUPID KEY MODULATION -- is the final straw, andthat's only about 4 minutes in.Happily, I love JLC and Jennifer Tilly (who had the only interestingpart in the entire flick), as well as Wallace Shawn. But what wasWallace Shawn doing in this movie?? Bad concept, bad script, badacting, bad characters, bad, bad, bad people raising more brats toperpetuate the badness of the suburbs.I wish they would have just f'n gotten divorced already. Then, we allcould have sidestepped this exercise in vicarious misery, altogether.The ONLY thing that merited even a "1" was JLC doing a silly hula overthe credits. Well, give it perhaps a 1 and a half. The relief broughtby seeing the credits alone made this cranky critic very, very happy.Alright, a very begrudging 2. Jennifer Love Hewitt's singing voice on"It's Good to Know That I'm Alive" sounds sufficiently like thefantastic Maria McKee of Lone Justice to make me look. Who knew? Righton. I guess.

2012-04-22 19:33:02

Fun...to make fun of

Truly awful. How the heck did this kind of cast get sucked intothis kind of movie? Humor falls flat, acting is weak, etc. Go get adifferent movie.

2012-04-22 10:06:49

ehh

i thought this movie was BORING. i mean, kyle howard should'nt be doing these kinds of movies. yes, i understand the whole 90's movies thing, but still, the 80's had better movies than this.and what kind of a name is grover??

2012-04-21 11:15:03

I like Comedys and Horror Movies, but this is one BAD Movie

Yikes, talk about wasted talent! Jam ie Lee Curtis, JLH there all wasting talent on a horrible movie.

2012-04-20 23:22:14

Pure Kids Stuff...But So Much Fun

I'll mince no words about "House Arrest": it is pure kiddie fare. The plot is ridiculous, the acting is outrageous, and the characters are overly colorful. Yet, the whole film is just plain fun!For a basic plot summary, "House Arrest" sees young Grover Beindorf (Kyle Howard) lock his nearing-divorce parents (Jamie Lee Curtis & Kevin Pollak) in the basement in hopes of seeing them work out their problems. Predictably, insanity ensues and pretty soon three other "parental units" are trapped as well.From beginning to end, the sight gags and goofy humor abound. The parents "down below" scheme to escape and bicker amongst themselves, the kids "above" struggle with their newfound freedom, and all the while a comically nosy neighbor tries to put the pieces together.What always charms me about this movie is how it espouses such a great message at its core: kids just wanting their parents to get along. Incredibly sappy, for sure, but also innocent and sweet. Besides that, the auxiliary cast (especially Jennifer Tilly, Christopher McDonald, & Wallace "Rex from Toy Story" Shawn) really drives the humorous moments with their wacky antics and predicaments. Oh yeah, and a young Jennifer Love Hewitt will be every young boy's fantasy after watching this movie (!).Thus, "House Arrest" may be cornball through and through, but director Harry Winer makes no bones about it and embraces the zany hilarity. Show this to your children and try to remember being a kid yourself!

slobster 2012-04-14 01:07:28

Avoid at all costs

I watched this movie on TV, because I saw in the opening credits that itstarred Jamie Lee Curtis, Jennifer Tilly, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Ithought it would be a cute little family comedy, and also a good way to passthe time. Boy, was I wrong! A horrible plot, terrible acting, and the music!Ughhh...OK...Grover and Stacey's parents (Curtis & Pollak) are divorcing, sothey lock them in the basement, so they can "work things out". Soon, otherkids learn about this, and they bring their parents to be locked away too.So...yada yada yada, bla bla bla...And at the end, Curtis & Pollak get backtogether (just like in real life) and they take their kids on their 2ndhoneymoon with them. Oh, come on! This is a unfunny "family" comedy that youshould avoid at all costs. Grade: D- (the only reason it didn't get an F isbecause there were one or two semi-enjoyable scenes involving theparents)

MuggySphere 2012-04-13 14:18:28

Fun, and Jennifer Love Hewitt too

This wasn't the best movie I've seen in recent times but it was a funmovie. I liked the concept of holding the oldies hostage while theysort their affairs out.The bonus I guess is that if your're a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt as Iam she's in this movie and her role though minor is good, and hey she'skinda hot you know so that's a bonus.I can't really fault the film and yes there's an awful lot of badreviews around about it but I think it's well worth the 6/10 I gave it. It's a fun film for everyone, without being too over sentimental orsugar filled. I was surprised to see Jennifer Tilly in this as I feltit too lightweight for her, but there you go guess she needed the work.