Housesitter

Director: Frank Oz Frank Oz

Overview

"In this romantic comedy from director Frank Oz, Steve Martin plays Boston architect Newton Davis, an impulsive dreamer who builds a bucolic dream home for his girlfriend (Dana Delany) as a means of proposing to her -- only she turns him down. Three months later, the depressed Davis meets a waitress who calls herself Gwen (Goldie Hawn), though pretending to be Hungarian proves to be only the first of her many deceptions. Davis has a one-night stand with Gwen during which he tells her the sad story of the house, which remains unoccupied just outside the city in his hometown of Dobbs Mills, because he can't bear to sell it. Following what seems to be a familiar path for this con artist, Gwen locates the house, figuring she can take up residence without anyone noticing. During a trip to the local grocery, she ends up telling the proprietor she's Davis' wife while trying to charge her purchases to his account. When she offers the same story to a local furniture dealer (Donald Moffat), unaware he's Davis' father, it triggers a string of fabrications in which the shocked Davis unwittingly becomes a co-conspirator. Seeing an opportunity of his own, Davis allows Gwen to stay in the house and agrees to go along with her story in hopes of winning back his jealous ex. Of course, this also necessitates outlandish lie upon outlandish lie, leaving the whole enterprise forever on the verge of collapse."

Product Details

Release Date:	07/22/1998
UPC:	0025192031922
Original Release:	1992
Rating:	PG
Source:	Universal Studios
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:42:00
Sales rank:	6,569

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Steve Martin	Newton Davis,Actor
Goldie Hawn	Gwen Phillips
Dana Delany	Becky Metcalf
Julie Harris	Edna Davis
Donald Moffat	George Davis
Peter MacNicol	Marty
Richard B. Shull	Ralph
Laurel Cronin	Mary
Roy Cooper	Moseby
Christopher Durang	Rev. Lipton
Heywood Hale Broun	Travsis
Cherry Jones	Patty,Restaurant Guest
Vasek Simek	Karol
Suzanne Whang	Moseby's Secretary
Mary King	Lorraine
Mary Klug	Lorraine
Alice Duffy	Hazel
Ken Cheeseman	Harv
John Lyons	Actor
Tony V.	Bus Driver
Ricardo Pitts-Wiley	Bus Driver
Belle McDonald	Aunt Betty,Uncel Ray
Kevin O'Brien	Caterer Truck Driver
Maggie Steig	Party Guest
Molly D. Gerard	Party Guest
David Hannegan	Party Guest
Edward Mason	Party Guest
Grenville Cuyler	Party Guest
Rose-Ann San Martino	Shopkeeper
Hazel Gardner	Mother with Stroller
Phyllis Jubett Gould	Dobb's Mill Pedestrian
George Jones	Restaurant Guest
Moira J. McCarthy	Restaurant Guest
Michael Nurse	Dedication Ceremony Speaker
Howe F. Perrigo	Bus Person
Patricia Madden	China Shop Proprietor
Miles Goodman	Composer
Frank Oz	Actor
Penny Downie	Actor
Louise Brealey	Actor
Olivia Poulet	Actor
Jessica Gunning	Actor

Technical Credits

Mark Stein

Brian Grazer

Frank Oz	Director
Mark Stein	Screenwriter
Bernard Williams	Executive Producer
Brian Grazer	Producer,Screenwriter
Al Di Sarro	Special Effects
Bud Davis	Stunts
Yasmine Amitai	Sound Effects
Elisha Birnbaum	Sound Effects
Martin Raymond Bolger	Sound Effects
Kristine Bulakowski	Sound Effects
Richard P. Cirincione	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

The dream pairing of Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn does not produce the comic gold, so to speak, one would hope for, but Housesitter still has its share of lukewarm pleasures. Frank Oz's follow-up to the hits Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and What About Bob? is at its best when allowing the two veterans to engage in their experts-only subliminal sparring. As lie builds upon lie and both must go along with the others' whoppers for their own preservation, it's wonderful to watch Martin and Hawn match wits, trying to work each other into a corner without blowing the whole charade. The frustration, disbelief, and panic they barely contain, instead forcing a smile and having to run with the other's story, is priceless. However, the script on the whole doesn't live up to these best moments, asking altogether too many characters to play a lot dumber than they would really be. The ending is too hasty to sit well, for that matter. There's something too restrained about Housesitter, especially if one considers it a screwball comedy. Martin and Hawn's verbal gymnastics are good, but one wishes Oz would have found room for their gifts at physical comedy, which both have made something of a trademark. Still, their other trademarks -- Martin's righteous outrage ("I punched a totally innocent Hungarian!") and Hawn's blithe teasing -- make Housesitter worth recommending to their fans.