MovieAddict2016
By no means a great comedy, "Houseguest" actually comes across as being fairly entertaining thanks largely to the presence of the late, great Phil Hartman. Hartman's deadpan, ironic delivery always cracked me up on "SNL," and although his film career never really took off prior to his death, he had some good supporting roles, and this is one of them.Sinbad is basically as annoying as ever (although, admittedly, not nearly as bad as some other comedians-turned-family-entertainers) and the plot is very basic and recycled - a guy on the run from some Mafioso types decides to take on the identity of someone else through a series of bizarre misunderstandings. In this case Sinbad finds himself pretending to be the old friend of Hartman's, who is now a brain doctor. There are actually some rather amusing scenes involving the forced and awkward such as when Sinbad is forced to give a speech on brain surgery despite knowing absolutely nothing about the topic.Overall, not by any means a great comedy, but something that can easily divert your attention on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
palebeachbum
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.
Benjamin
I have to say, when I first saw the movie, I thought it was incredibly dumb. After about the third time, I thought it was so funny. It gets more amusing the more often you watch it. It's sort of like that song that you think sucks the first few times you hear it, and then you listen to it a few more times, and it sounds a little better, and then after about a month, you really like it. Sinbad and Phil Hartman play off each other very well, and amongst the stupidity, there's a light hearted lesson in friendship and the ability of people to change. I don't know how much more I can write about the movie without going into spoilers, but just go out and rent it.
timetoduel26
The movie house guest was a very funny movie that will please most of the people who view it. The movie is more along the lines of family airing but it does have adult humor the will satisfy young and old viewers.The only bad thing about the movie is that it has an impossible story; I don't think Phil Hartmans character would believe such a bogus story. All Sinbad had to do was read the sign that said Derek Bond Let phil tell you of the info you desire and BAM an impostor is coming into your house posing as your old camping chum. Also during the movie sinbad does some pretty outrageous stuff that would not only get him in trouble, but would have his identity revealed. The movie is funny and I would recommend renting, or even buying, its just that good of a movie.
AD
