Hostage for a Day

It's warren's birthday, and just everything is going wrong. His wife wants to remodel the house, and seems to be shagging the contractor. And she refuses to cook for warren. His only escape is to pretend he's been taken hostage. But of course that goes wrong too, and he really does get taken hostage. It's a great premise, but it just stumbles along. It's more chaotic than funny. There are some fun actors here... george wendt is warren, and his wife is played by robin duke (the waitress from groundhog day!) warren's father in law is john vernon (dean wormer, from animal house). Of course, john candy has a cameo. It's all way over the top; the acting, the script. The longest pauses you've ever heard in a movie. Were they waiting for laughter that didn't happen? And chris templeton always seems to be in shots by herself. Did they film most of her shots at her own house? It's possible her medical challenges were already limiting her in some ways. The movie is so disjointed. There's lot of action, but about the only people who interact are warren and his wife, or the wife and hondo the contractor! Don lake (plays lieutenant sneed) really played up the humor. Too bad the rest of the film wasn't as good. And who exactly is ronnie?? What a mess. Can't really recommend this one. It's the one and only film john candy directed. Sadly, he died march 4 1994, and didn't get to see it released april 25. Chris templeton also died young at 58.

The first time I saw this movie, around 1996, I was very disappointed. After nine years I gave this movie a second try. This time I enjoyed the movie. John Candy's small cameo as Yuri Petrovich is funny, although I wonder how it would have been if John had played George Wendt's part. Don't get me wrong, George Wendt is a great actor but he hasn't got much chance to be funny, because you feel sorry for his character all the time. Christopher Templeton is really terrific as Wendt's childhood sweetheart Diane St. Clair. I think the big problem is that the movie's sensitivity doesn't match with the silliness and vice versa. Sadly, when this movie premiered on television John Candy had already passed away.

George Wendt is so convincing in his role as hostage. He makes it so believable! You end up getting caught up in the movie, and it seems like hours are actually minutes. Role after role, his movies get better an better. They turn such a simple plot into so much more. John Candy and George wendt should have always done movies together. This dynamic duel seems Unstoppable! I am very suprised to find that it wasn't an instant success. If not watch it for its hillarious plot, than rent it for Wendt's brilliant preformance. As scary as it is intelligent, as funny as it is touching, Hostage For a Day is a prime example of the way cinema should be: excellent telling of complete stories.

I really enjoy the movie, it's really funny. It's sad that John passed away after his directorial debut. The plot is kind of out of the ordinary compared to another black comedy movie. But who cares? I always enjoy Candy's movie. He's naturally funny and perfect for the character "Yuri". Don't get me wrong, George is funny too. But in this movie he's never get a change to be really funny. Probably it's because the script. Look at cheers. He is pretty Hilarius. Anyway, I've seen the movie once, and I'd like to watch it over and over again. Btw, does anybody know where I could download this movie or get a DVD version? I really appreciate the information

I remember seeing this movie on one Saturday afternoon like 5 years ago. I cant believe that I remember it but I actually do but I couldn't remember the name of it until I stumbled on it here. This wasn't a bad movie. I found it silly, light hearted, cheesy and kinda cute. George Wednt character isn't that funny but there are a few good gags in this movie, and he plays the role in a way where you can root for him. It left me satisfied for a Saturday afternoon movie. So what I'm saying is if you ever run into this movie on TV one (most likely) weekend afternoon, you'll probably enjoy it if you take it for what it is and not really take it seriously.