House Arrest

Play trailer

House Arrest

PG

1996

1h 48m

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

10%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

45%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

When Janet Beindorf (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her husband, Ned (Kevin Pollak), announce their separation, their two kids decide to lock them in the basement of their home until they sort things out. Soon other parents are getting the same treatment from their children, including the divorce-happy Vic Finley (Wallace Shawn), with all the adults confined to the Beindorfs' basement along with Janet and Ned. Unable to escape their prison, will the parents finally make some changes in their lives?

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Constructed out of cliches, thinly written characters, and fundamental misunderstandings of human nature, House Arrest is a dull (and borderline irresponsible) waste of a talented cast.

Read Critics Reviews

Erin Richter

Entertainment Weekly

[A] predictable and sugarcoated (even criminally negligent) take on The Parent Trap.

Rated: D-

Jun 14, 2013

Full Review

Jeff Shannon

Seattle Times

To the slim degree that it qualifies as a comedy, House Arrest is a comedy with rank amateur pathos, and it's totally out of touch with its own superficially treated emotions.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jun 14, 2013

Full Review

Steven Rea

Philadelphia Inquirer

A headache of a movie with a Parent Trap premise that quickly devolves into clamorous farce.

Rated: 2/4

May 29, 2013

Full Review

Dennis King

Tulsa World

Borrowing liberally from both The Parent Trap' and The Great Escape, this misguided attempt at family farce rests on a couple of incompatible premises -- romantic matchmaking and imprisoned dispair.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jul 26, 2014

Full Review

People Magazine

When you scrape through the bottom of the comedy barrel and root around underneath it, this tedious morsel of drivel is what you will find.

Jul 26, 2014

Full Review

John Ferguson

Radio Times

The performances of both adults and youngsters are uniformly strong and, despite the occasional invasion of sentimentality, this makes for thoughtful entertainment.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 26, 2014

Full Review

Read all reviews

thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/19/25

Full Review

sammy s

One of my favorite movies!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/30/23

Full Review

steve d

A ridiculous idea that's cast is somehow able to sell.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great coming of age movie from the 90s. Cool to see these actors nearly 30 years younger.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Love this movie! #90kid

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

House Arrest is without a lie the worst comedy film ever. This movie is not funny to watch. The movie was mean-spirited, and the jokes were terrible.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Harry Winer

Director

Jamie Lee Curtis

Janet Beindorf

Kevin Pollak

Ned Beindorf

Jennifer Tilly

Cindy Figler

Christopher McDonald

Donald Krupp

Sheila McCarthy

Gwenna Krupp

It Takes Two

8%

60%

It Takes Two

Watchlist

TRAILER

for It Takes Two

Dear God

15%

28%

Dear God

Watchlist

Big Bully

0%

21%

Big Bully

Watchlist

The First Wives Club

49%

68%

The First Wives Club

Watchlist

Father of the Bride Part II

54%

60%

Father of the Bride Part II

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

When Janet Beindorf (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her husband, Ned (Kevin Pollak), announce their separation, their two kids decide to lock them in the basement of their home until they sort things out. Soon other parents are getting the same treatment from their children, including the divorce-happy Vic Finley (Wallace Shawn), with all the adults confined to the Beindorfs' basement along with Janet and Ned. Unable to escape their prison, will the parents finally make some changes in their lives?

Director: Harry Winer
Producer: Judith A. Polone, Harry Winer
Screenwriter: Michael Hitchcock
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Home Box Office (HBO), Rysher Entertainment
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 14, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.0M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now