IMDb RATING
5.8/10
9.6K
YOUR RATING
Desperate to keep their various parents from getting divorced, a group of teenagers kidnaps them and holds them prisoner in a basement to force them to reconcile.Desperate to keep their various parents from getting divorced, a group of teenagers kidnaps them and holds them prisoner in a basement to force them to reconcile.Desperate to keep their various parents from getting divorced, a group of teenagers kidnaps them and holds them prisoner in a basement to force them to reconcile.
- Awards
- 1 nomination total
Herbert Russell
- T.J. Krupp
- (as Russel Harper)
Alex Seltz-Wald
- Jimmy
- (as Alex Seitz)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
No matter how you beat around the bush this movie is still a good movie. Even though at times it can be sappy, like when Grover has his temper tantrum (which was absolutely funny) its still cute. My favorite part would have to be when the parents are dancing, it was so cute. But then you want to wonder what was going on with Mark's folks I mean at one point I was trying to understand why they were looking like they had sex the that night. When TJ started playing " Its Not Unusual" you see their heads pop out. Why would they be having sex when other people were around, thats kind of weird. Another thing it was kind of grimy how the fist thing that Mrs. Beindorf notices about her husband is his car. what was up with the nosy behind neighbor? These scenes really made you really want to go "hmmmmmm"? I love the part when Mr. Beindorf tells his wife that Mr. Krump would be his attorney. Krump looks at the wife and turns to Beindorf and say " I can get you the house, but kids might be a problem" All in all this movie is still good.
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.
House Arrest
Two kids are shocked when their parents announce that they are separating. As a last resort, the siblings decide to lock them in the basement and not let them out until their marital problems are solved. However, the friends of the children soon find out about what they are up to, and force their parents into the basement as well. Will the group of couples be able to sort out their relationships, or is this just 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 though some of the acting is highly irritating, the children (apart from the main guy) are very funny, as is Jamie Lee Curtis. While everything about the film is far too predictable and safe (even for a family film), there's an energy about the production that is impossible to resist. A guilty pleasure.
~ 6/10 ~
Two kids are shocked when their parents announce that they are separating. As a last resort, the siblings decide to lock them in the basement and not let them out until their marital problems are solved. However, the friends of the children soon find out about what they are up to, and force their parents into the basement as well. Will the group of couples be able to sort out their relationships, or is this just 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 though some of the acting is highly irritating, the children (apart from the main guy) are very funny, as is Jamie Lee Curtis. While everything about the film is far too predictable and safe (even for a family film), there's an energy about the production that is impossible to resist. A guilty pleasure.
~ 6/10 ~
This wasn't the best movie I've seen in recent times but it was a fun movie. I liked the concept of holding the oldies hostage while they sort their affairs out.
The bonus I guess is that if your're a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt as I am she's in this movie and her role though minor is good, and hey she's kinda hot you know so that's a bonus.
I can't really fault the film and yes there's an awful lot of bad reviews 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 or sugar filled. I was surprised to see Jennifer Tilly in this as I felt it too lightweight for her, but there you go guess she needed the work.
The bonus I guess is that if your're a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt as I am she's in this movie and her role though minor is good, and hey she's kinda hot you know so that's a bonus.
I can't really fault the film and yes there's an awful lot of bad reviews 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 or sugar filled. I was surprised to see Jennifer Tilly in this as I felt it too lightweight for her, but there you go guess she needed the work.
'House Arrest' is a really cute movie and hopefully will influence parents to think about things before just getting a divorce. This movie may not be the most realistic portrayal of how a kid would act when he found out his parents were thinking about splitting (ie locking your parents in the basement) but the reactions are pretty genuine in the fact that just about all kids have problems with their parents. Some things were def. over-exaggerated though, like when Grover (Kyle Howard) finds divorce papers in the mail and then 'flips' out by shoving a bunch of papers around and knocking stuff over. No kid, well usually, would be that mad about their parents divorcing (I'm sure they would be upset, maybe cry, but like wrecking stuff in some sort of manner, yea right). The acting wasn't bad, I thought it was pretty good all around. The story was funny and if your parents aren't like any of the ones in the movie, you probably will appreciate your own family more. I recommend seeing this if you can, it's on HBO a lot.
Did you know
- TriviaDan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, Tom Hanks, and Bill Murray were considered for the role of Ned Beindorf.
- GoofsStacey's nail gun would require air pressure to make it work. There is no air hose hooked to it, making it impossible to use.
- Quotes
Donald Krupp: Your son is truly certifiable!
Ned Beindorf: My son is certifiable?
Donald Krupp: Yeah, your son.
Ned Beindorf: How about when the yearbook comes out, your kid's picture is gonna be there "Most likely to be a serial killer"--That's your boy!
- Crazy creditsAs 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).
- SoundtracksLove Will Keep Us Together
Written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield
Published by Entco Music
Performed by Captain & Tennille
Courtesy of A&M Records
- How long is House Arrest?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,032,782
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,275,808
- Aug 18, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $7,032,782
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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