House Broken

After you've watched this movie, you can call it both ways, especially after Danny Devito's 2 sons, Ryan Hansen as Elliot, and Skyler Stone as Quinn, are done. Talk about what have to be the most nerdy, brainless, half-witted, clueless and screw-balled airheads - these 2 and their pack of equally dumb friends. Their girlfriends weren't much better either.

It was a pleasure, though, to see Danny DeVito once again. After all these years, he proves that he hasn't lost his touch, ever so excellent. That expression he has when arching his brow and puckering his lips, signaling he's about to drum up something, cracks me up still just as it did way back when he made Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger. In this movie, boy does he have a handful with his dysfunctional misfits, an airhead of a wife not willing to live without "her boys", a wacky neighbor in the persona of Tom Wilson (yes, the very same "Biff" from Back to the Future), and a firefighter friend he hires with a pet snake to scare off the Brady bunch (John Farley as "Nate").

But our hero, now ex-Fire Chief and Firefighter Captain, has no intention of spending his retirement accompanied by screwballs, be they his sons or not. Oh no! he has a whole plan drawn up to teach these guys to be men, and move on. Does he succeed? Well, you'll have to find out.

What I take exception to is the constant and varied sexual innuendos, not played down either - but really crass and crude. There were several moments where public references to both male and female genitalia were made; I do not see what this had to do with the plot, or how it contributed to the story, other than cheapening it unnecessarily. Lots of dildos illustrating their function - at one time, the elder plays at putting one in his brother's mouth while sleeping. There was a scene with a dummy which I thought sick and unnecessary, and the list goes on.

This, primarily, is what prompted my low score. It isn't a flick you'll want to watch with your family, especially not young kids. So if you watch this, make sure whomever is with you (if anyone) is mature enough and will not take undue offense at such portrayal of what nowadays is called 'humor'.

That being said, a few laughs and giggles are on the menu, tainted, sadly, with a lot of mindless humor and crude language/behavior.

Sam Harper's 'House Broken' is pointless venture, with nothing working on it's advantage. In order to enjoy his retirement, a father takes drastic measures to get his twenty something, slacker sons to move out and fend for themselves. Now does the idea excite you? It doesn't work for me, sorry!

The direction is bland, the camera-work is a mess. The acting is not great either, Danny DeVito is wasted, why did to something like this? Katey Sagal is bland. Ryan Hansen hams to the hilt. Skyler Stone is okay. Thomas F. Wilson has never been so unconvincing.

Skip this film, Thumbs Down!

In this very offensive and unsuitable for viewing film, Danny Devito and Katey Segal are the parents of two lazy-bottom young men. Devito retires from the Fire Dept after 25 years and, at that point, realizes how shiftless his kids are. Wife has been taking care of the them for years. So, Devito kidnaps his wife and takes the camper out of town, to stay until the young adult sons learn how to take care of themselves. Admittedly, there are a few laughs at the beginning. When the fire truck escorts newly retired Devito home, an energetic cheerleader-gymnast does handsprings right into the fire truck! In that same scene, the VERY challenged sons manage to turn the main water spout on full blast, shoving a young girl on a tricycle against a wall. But, not long after that, very offensive language and scenes start to add up and this viewer had to turn it off and pitch it into a waste basket. What a shame, since the premise was clever and Devito is always a funny, funny man. When a film advertised for general viewing should have been given an NC-17 rating, that's a big problem.

I had zero expectation when I started watching this movie about two slacker brothers who won't leave their parents' house. Oddly enough, it was as good as any other juvenile type comedy, and probably even better in some respects. For one, it's not just slapstick stupidity that tends to characterize Will Ferrell's movies, for example. There is a lot of underhanded humour that the two leads pull off very well throughout the course of the film.

I believe that comedy is the hardest genre because it's really hard to genuinely be funny and make people laugh. While I wasn't on the floor, it WAS funny and it entertained. I recommend it you're bored and looking for a few laughs.

Halarious! Non stop laughing and is exactly the type of movie you should watch if you want to laugh. Ignore all the sensitive comments.