Houseguest

This movie had the potential to be a hilarious Sinbad comedy. I enjoyed it far more when I was a kid. After watching it again today, I realized how bad it really is. The cinematography was pretty bad. The camera cuts back and forth far too much, especially during dialog between two characters at once, making it almost dizzying to watch at times. Editing was noticeably bad in some scenes. For example, a character is standing in one spot, then the camera angle changes and the character is now standing in a different spot. Or how about the scene when Sinbad is leaving the airport in the red Volvo wagon and spins the tires taking off causing the rear wheels to spin and smoke. Did anyone notice the patch of oil under the smoking tire they show a close-up of? I've driven that kind of Volvo and I can say from experience those Volvos can't spin the tires like that on dry pavement. So it was obvious the wet patch on the ground was oil they poured there to cause the rear wheels to spin and smoke when Sinbad took off fast. Just simple stuff like that that can make a movie seem cheaply and poorly done.

I saw this movie at home. I love that movie. Sinbad was Hilarius. Sarah Young was cute. The Youngs dog is very interesting. My Favorite part when Sindbad was driving very funny. The Young's teenager is very cool. Sinbad and The Young's boy playing basket ball was very cool. Whats funny when Sinbad dunks the basketball in the hoop. In this movie Houseguest Sinbad was very smart and funny. Whats also funny when he talks about something in his car. My friend at Boca Sarah loves that movie. I hate when those bad guys tell Sinbad to do is give them the money. It's also funny when Sinbad throws the burger. Everybody will love this movie you will laugh at this movie it's hilarious

Kevin (Sinbad) is a poor single man living in Pittsburgh, with his hamster, in a small apartment. An orphan, Kevin once bragged to his grade school classmates that, one day, he would be "very wealthy". Trouble is, none of his get-rich-quick schemes have panned out and Kevin is in debt to the local mobsters. When they come to collect, Keving speeds off to the airport to catch a flight. However, with the mob on his heels, Kevin overhears an even better opportunity for him to lay low for awhile, at the airport terminal. It seems that Gary (Phil Hartman)and his children are waiting for an old camp friend that Gary has not seen for 20 years. Kevin seizes the moment and declares himself to be Dr. Derek Bond, a dentist, to Gary and the kids. Gary is delighted to see him and takes him home. Once there, in heavenly suburbia, Kevin finds out he is supposed to make a speech at the local elementary school, on career day. Okay. Kevin also learns he is reputed to be a strict vegetarian. Horrors. But, as the family showers him with gifts and parties, Kevin wonders, as do we all, how soon will they learn the truth about his identity? This is a great film, very funny and very spirit-lifting. Sinbad's Kevin is a such a lovable character, despite his scheming, that everyone is hoping for a happy ending. Hartman, likewise, is dead-pan funny in his role as a much put-upon lawyer with a family that looks perfect but which, in reality, has some problems to overcome. The setting is lovely, the costumes are nice, and the look of the film is quite wonderful, too. Do you want to cheer up yourself and your family in a big fashion? This is the film for you, as to watch it is to love it and laugh it up till the clouds overhead are long gone.

I was in college when this movie came out in 1995, and me and my friends all thought it was hilarious then. Now, at age 40, I still find a lot of it still funny. Sinbad was very funny, but from an older perspective, he's sometimes a little too hyper excited. But that aspect is still minimal, and it's mainly in the first parts of the movie before Sinbad teams up with Phil Hartman. We get a couple more of the comic book style gangsters that we've seen in so many other 90s movies (I.e. "Getting even with dad", " Cop and a half","Man of the house"). And (the late) Phil and his wife could be a little brighter for not being able to see Sinbad as an imposter. But I've always let that part slide cause the scenes with Sinbad, Phil and his family were the best parts of the movie. I still find the part with Sinbad at the school assembly very funny. Same with Sinbad at the party at the house. And Sinbad's reaction to Phil calling every activity they do "the thing". And I've always liked Sinbad and Phil's chemistry together here. Phil Hartman is one of a number of great comic actors from the 80s and 90s I really liked that are no longer with us, such as Chris Farely, River Phoenix, and Corey Haim. Jeffery Jones definitely had had his day, but in "Houseguest", his " Ferris Bueller" funniness is long gone. But there's still some funny zanyness. I always shared Sinbad's fondness for McDonalds back then, back in the days when McDonalds burgers still tasted good. That was before the quality of McDonalds, Burger King, and a number of other fast food places went downhill. I still laughed at this movie. Like I said, a lot of the movie's still funny. It's on my long list of favorites from the 80s and 90s, the age of my youth.

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.

What a great movie this is. Humorous, well acted, dramatic, and well written. A Pittsburgh get rich-quick man, Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) is in big trouble! He borrowed money from the bad guys, and now they want it back, or Franklin is history! In attempt to skip town at the airport, Franklin runs into Gary Young (poor old Phil Hartman) who is waiting for his old friend Derek Bond who he hasn't seen in 25 years. Franklin becomes Bond, and lives with Gary for a few days. What an adventure he has, not knowing who Derek Bond is, and trying to be him! A lot of excitement and humor happens now! Kevin learns a lot, but also teaches Gary's family things they needed to help them from falling apart. Kevin really improves the Youngs, and they improve him. Now if only the bad guys weren't still after Franklin. Can Kevin get the Youngs to help him with the bad guys, and will they all make it?! If you like Sinbad and poor old Phil Hartman, check this movie out. It's also great for you if you like adventures and comedies. On a scale of 1-10, I give this movie a nine (9), and a letter grade of A! Check it out for yourself. You'll have a ball, and you might even learn some important stuff!

I thought for sure I was going to run kicking and screaming from my television... a film with Sinbad? Unwatchable! But this gem proved me wrong, as I not only watched it but loved almost every second of it (and Sinbad is always on the screen, so surely it must be his doing!). The story is a common Hollywood theme: a guy (Sinbad) passes himself off on a group or family as someone he's not: in this case, a childhood friend of a father (Phil Hartman). A little variety exists in how to play this out, but the same old stuff happens: stranger teaches family a lesson and learns one himself along the way. What made this film great was the cast. Sinbad was surprisingly insightful and was able to make even average activities seem far-fetched and outrageous. Phil Hartman had a relatively minor role and didn't really get to provide us with a full performance, but his physical facial comedy of biting into a piece of turkey was extremely amusing (facial comedy plays a large part in this film, later coming back when a wine taster is testing a glass). Jeffrey Jones has too small a part (this man is so under-rated in Hollywood), but does well with what he's been given. And most of all I think Kim Murphy's career should have ignited from this film, but I guess producers didn't watch it. Murphy is obviously beautiful (which seems to be enough to make it in Hollywood), but more so she played her Gothic character perfectly. I was amused with her delivery of the lines concerning Edgar Allan Poe's last meal, her Smiths t-shirt (perfect choice) and the really wacky line about evil rats. The writers did their homework when writing in Murphy's character and she repaid them in spades. (Can I use the word "spades" when talking about a Sinbad movie?) The soundtrack was amusing. Best feature: the fact that some scenes were so obviously McDonald's commercials, with one really extended scene including a McDonald's theme song. Heck, after that moment I would have cut off my own leg for a double quarter pounder with cheese. I love this movie, and would not be against displaying it proudly on my movie shelf for all my relatives, friends and guests to see. I do not know why this film has gone underground and has been long forgotten my many people, but it shouldn't have been. This is comedy gold, people.

This was a painful movie to endure. This movie must hold the record for fast motion scenes. I am a Phil Hartman fan and that's what prompted me to give this movie a 2 and not a 1. Maybe its for kids, I don't know, but I was bored from the outset. I kept checking the clock to see how much longer the movie was, then I finally checked the box to confirm the length of the movie. These aren't things you should do if it's a semi-interesting film. And, that's not to mention the endless, shameless, plugs for McDonalds. What a waste of talent. If you want to see a better, well written "houseguest" check out Peter Sellers in "Being There".

If it wasn't for Sinbad I dont think this movie would be as funny as it was, Sinbad was straight hilarious in this movie. I seriously laughed so much watching this movie. It's definitely a movie you can watch a thousand times and still laugh your butt off lol.

When Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) accrues $50,000 in mob debt from a series of ill fated get rich quick schemes, Kevin attempts to flee only to be found out by mob collectors at the airport. Overhearing a conversation with lawyer Gary Young (Phil Hartman) who's awaiting the arrival of, Derek Bond, a childhood friend he's not seen in 20 years. Kevin assumes the role of Derek and becomes the Young family's houseguest for the Memorial Day weekend as he tries to keep up his shambling façade. Coming to prominence in the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World, Sinbad had made a name with his recurring role on the program, as well as hosting Showtime at the Apollo. In 1993 at the heigh of Sinbad's popularity, he signed a deal with Disney for a 13 episode tv series (The Sinbad Show) and a pay or play deal for Houseguest. Unfortunately while Sinbad can be funny, Houseguest does not play to his strengths as it's an overlong slog that takes a theoretically rich culture clash premise and handles it on a way that robs it of comic spark. Sinbad's role is basically that of a good natured schemer with a plethora of get rich quick schemes that are varying degrees of inept or preposterous and there's definitely material there but it's not presented all that well. I'm a massive fan of Phil Hartman but he feels greatly miscast playing the straightman suburban dad and feels like it was envisioned for an actor known for more tightly wound performances like Steve Martin or Charles Grodin. Even once the two do get together there's not all that much chemistry between the two and the movie doesn't sell us on why Sinbad's scam fools everyone. The humor from this kind of premise is predicated upon tension derived from being found out and caught in the lie but the movie basically reinforces the lie with concrete in how it allows things to work out perfectly fine for Kevin as he basically does little if anything to reinforce his lie including changing his behavior and what "threats" there are to being found out are mostly presented as impotent and weightless. In addition to the rather misjudged material, director Randall Miller over directs the movie abusing montages, crossfades, smash cuts and just all around making a film that feels choppy. One sequence in particular is a sequence where Kevin is confronted by the two debt collectors in his apartment, and it's cut in such a way that shots only last 3 seconds before jumping somewhere else making a simple scene disorienting. Houseguest is a failed comedy. While it has a rich enough premise and Sinbad has energy as the lead, Phil Hartman doesn't fit as a suitable counterpart in a role that should've been more serious to bounce off against Sinbad and its central premise of culture clashes and farcical lies feels neutered by a lack of tension or friction present in the proceedings. Not awful, but not worth viewing either.