Houseguest
January. 06,1995 PGIn hot water with the mob over an unpaid debt, a con man poses as a family friend in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb.
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Truly Dreadful Film
Touches You
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
If the idea of someone hiding in a family to escape problems is funny, the story written around is not amazing: the scenes come up one after another without any sense and it's pretty much the same stuff every time (Sinbad does whatever and it pays off). Sure i laugh every 5 minutes because there is always a good line or a funny situation but overall, this kind of non stop talking clown gives me headaches! The other thing that disturbs me is that the family is the new brand of upper class, with the usual depressive teen girl and the big mansion... When i was young, the families look like mine (ET, Goonies, Poltergeist, Twin Peaks). As it's already there in Home Alone, i think that the difference is about coast: in the east, family has big brick houses while in the west, it's more pavilion. At last, if i rate 4 instead of 7, it's because of the poor ending: suddenly, the movie becomes a lesson, it's about redemption and it spoils everything... By the way, Kim is nearly invisible here as a rare mother neglecting her children for work!!!NB: and his pink-green sport-wear is just ugly !!!
When I saw previews for this, I really wanted to see it. Unfortunately I never got time to go the movie theater to go see it. But when it became a new rental, I went right down to Blockbuster and rented it. And I loved this movie. The pairing of Sinbad and Phil Hartman was excellent. The part when they leave the airport is hilarious and also when Sinbad tells Jason "Caress the wheel like a woman. Don't hold it like a pervert!" Then Jason says "But I don't know how to caress a woman." LOL. That part was hilarious. From beginning to end, this movie is definitely an all-time classic. Too bad they don't make movies like this anymore. Now a days it's over-hyped garbage like The Da Vinci Code or these teen slasher psycho movies where everyone just runs around and screams. Another part I really liked was when Sinbad says to the wine critic "Sounds like someone needs a woman." That part was hilarious too. Houseguest is a comedic gem that very few comedies can live up to. Definitely worth seeing for anyone who hasn't seen it yet and definitely worth buying to add to your collection!
Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) finds himself in debt and is forced to pull off the hoax of the century by posing as an affluent dentist in suburbia, USA. Naturally, hilarity ensues as Franklin, a street smart con-man, is forced to adapt to the norms and conventions of middle-class white America. Expecting a conservative dentist, the host family bites off more than they can chew as Franklin turns their world upside down! Get ready to raise the roof!!! lol! But amid all this comedy is a great lesson about acceptance of other cultures and lifestyles. Not only does Sinbad change their lives, but something in Sinbad changes too. I just bought this on DVD (finally!) and haven't laughed this hard since "A Night With Sinbad" at the Dallas Convention Center in '96 where he introduced his now famous "peanut butter" bit!
and I think it may very well be the worst piece of crap ever put on film. Character development is an art form.... but not in this movie. Sinbad has a complete and life altering change of heart in, literally, 46 seconds. Seriously. I timed it.I also love the scene that by law has to be included in any movie where a black character spends more than 18 minutes with a white family: the black character teaches them how to "partay". However, what makes this scene particularly intriguing is that Sinbad starts looking into the camera during the party, and only in this scene does he do that.Please, I beg of anyone who owns this movie, destroy your copy. Save future generations from ever learning of Sinbad or his film exploits. Save the memory of Phil Hartman, and don't tarnish his legacy by showing people this movie.