HouseSitter
Encyclopedia
HouseSitter is a 1992
romantic comedy film
directed by Frank Oz
, written by Mark Stein
, and starring Steve Martin
and Goldie Hawn
. The premise involves a woman with con-artist tendencies who worms her way into the life of a reserved architect by claiming to be his wife.
) is a struggling architect
. After building his dream house for himself and his longtime girlfriend Becky (Dana Delany
), he is crushed when she refuses to marry him. He is unable to bring himself to live in the house, and leaves it abandoned and with a debt he cannot afford.
Some time later, Newton meets a waitress named Gwen (Goldie Hawn
) at a Hungarian
restaurant
. Believing that she cannot speak English, he spills out his sob story about Becky and the abandoned house. After the restaurant closes, Newton learns that she merely pretended to be Hungarian. They spend some time talking and end up spending the night together.
The next morning, Gwen finds that Newton has left in the middle of the night. However, he unintentionally left behind the drawing of the house he'd built for Becky. Piqued by the drawing, Gwen decides to take a bus ride out to see the house. She is charmed by it, and decides to take up residence in the empty domicile. Needing groceries, Gwen goes to the town's convenience store, where she charges her groceries to the "Newton Davis" account. When questioned about this, Gwen, who it becomes clear is a natural liar, says that she is Newton's wife.
Gwen meets Becky, and spins a lengthy romantic story about how they fell in love, which impresses Becky. Gwen also meets Newton's parents, who are heartbroken that Newton got "married" without telling them, but Gwen also manages to smooth things over believably with her charm.
One day, Newton travels to his hometown and is shocked to see that his house is lived in. When he finds out what Gwen has done he is initially furious, but he soon sees the potential in her being there. Gwen starts creating all sorts of opportunities for Newton: mending his relationship with his parents, helping out with his career and making Becky jealous. Newton and Gwen come to an agreement in which Gwen will help Newton get Becky, and in return she'll get all the furniture in the house.
Through their time together Newton begins to rely more on Gwen beyond their agreement, and Gwen starts to feel attached to her life with Newton. It is also revealed that Gwen became a compulsive liar in order to escape from what she feels is her own inadequacy, and that she has "changed" her life numerous times.
One night, Newton arrives home and realises that his feelings for Gwen are becoming apparent. He tells her, as she is doing laundry, that even an ugly jumper is a "turn-on" and, realising that he might have divulged a little fact, he tells her to tell him if there's anything that she thinks he should not wear; she denies his clothing.
For the reception, Gwen uses two homeless people, Ralph and Mary, who she knew from the Budapest Cafe, to pose as her parents, to which they do successfully enough to make the town of Dobbs Mill accept their position in Gwen's life.
The film culminates with a reception held at the house in which the sub-plots of Newton's career, family and affections for Becky are brought together. Annoyed with Becky for her slutty attitude, Gwen confronts her in front of everyone, accusing her of trying to win Newton back. Gwen storms out of the house in tears, and Newton follows her, thinking it is still part of the plan. Outside alone, Newton praises Gwen for her brilliance, but Gwen replies that she wanted their marriage to work and her feelings for him are apparent. Newton watches, confused, as Gwen leaves. Becky takes the opportunity to make a move on Newton, and asks him whether all of Gwen's stories were real. Newton answers that they were all true--not revealing that he lied about them--and chases after Gwen.
Newton stops Gwen as she is about to board a bus to leave town. Although she resists, Newton follows her example and begins telling an outlandish romantic story of something they supposedly did, which makes Gwen decide to stay. The film ends on the note of Newton and Gwen being happily married and living together in the house, watching a house being constructed for Ralph and Mary, who are officially "Bernie and Mary Duncle" in the eyes of the town and Newton's family. As Newton and Gwen go into the house to have sex
, the final spoken words are of Newton saying "I love you, Gwen" and Gwen replying, "Actually, it's Jessica."
The role of Gwen Phillips was initially offered to Meg Ryan
, who pulled out from the movie due to her pregnancy. After Ryan pulled out of the project, the producers wanted Kim Basinger
for the role of Gwen Phillips. However, Basinger also declined. As a result, Goldie Hawn
was eventually cast as Gwen Phillips.
The film was released on DVD on July 22, 1998, but contains no substantial extras.
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by Frank Oz
Frank Oz
Frank Oz is a British-born American film director, actor, voice actor and puppeteer who is known for creating and performing the characters Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show, Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover in Sesame Street, and for directing films, including the 1986 Little Shop of...
, written by Mark Stein
Mark Stein
Earl Mark Sean Stein , known as Mark Stein, is a South African-born English former footballer who played for numerous English clubs as a striker...
, and starring Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
. The premise involves a woman with con-artist tendencies who worms her way into the life of a reserved architect by claiming to be his wife.
Plot
Newton Davis (Steve MartinSteve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
) is a struggling architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. After building his dream house for himself and his longtime girlfriend Becky (Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
), he is crushed when she refuses to marry him. He is unable to bring himself to live in the house, and leaves it abandoned and with a debt he cannot afford.
Some time later, Newton meets a waitress named Gwen (Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
) at a Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
. Believing that she cannot speak English, he spills out his sob story about Becky and the abandoned house. After the restaurant closes, Newton learns that she merely pretended to be Hungarian. They spend some time talking and end up spending the night together.
The next morning, Gwen finds that Newton has left in the middle of the night. However, he unintentionally left behind the drawing of the house he'd built for Becky. Piqued by the drawing, Gwen decides to take a bus ride out to see the house. She is charmed by it, and decides to take up residence in the empty domicile. Needing groceries, Gwen goes to the town's convenience store, where she charges her groceries to the "Newton Davis" account. When questioned about this, Gwen, who it becomes clear is a natural liar, says that she is Newton's wife.
Gwen meets Becky, and spins a lengthy romantic story about how they fell in love, which impresses Becky. Gwen also meets Newton's parents, who are heartbroken that Newton got "married" without telling them, but Gwen also manages to smooth things over believably with her charm.
One day, Newton travels to his hometown and is shocked to see that his house is lived in. When he finds out what Gwen has done he is initially furious, but he soon sees the potential in her being there. Gwen starts creating all sorts of opportunities for Newton: mending his relationship with his parents, helping out with his career and making Becky jealous. Newton and Gwen come to an agreement in which Gwen will help Newton get Becky, and in return she'll get all the furniture in the house.
Through their time together Newton begins to rely more on Gwen beyond their agreement, and Gwen starts to feel attached to her life with Newton. It is also revealed that Gwen became a compulsive liar in order to escape from what she feels is her own inadequacy, and that she has "changed" her life numerous times.
One night, Newton arrives home and realises that his feelings for Gwen are becoming apparent. He tells her, as she is doing laundry, that even an ugly jumper is a "turn-on" and, realising that he might have divulged a little fact, he tells her to tell him if there's anything that she thinks he should not wear; she denies his clothing.
For the reception, Gwen uses two homeless people, Ralph and Mary, who she knew from the Budapest Cafe, to pose as her parents, to which they do successfully enough to make the town of Dobbs Mill accept their position in Gwen's life.
The film culminates with a reception held at the house in which the sub-plots of Newton's career, family and affections for Becky are brought together. Annoyed with Becky for her slutty attitude, Gwen confronts her in front of everyone, accusing her of trying to win Newton back. Gwen storms out of the house in tears, and Newton follows her, thinking it is still part of the plan. Outside alone, Newton praises Gwen for her brilliance, but Gwen replies that she wanted their marriage to work and her feelings for him are apparent. Newton watches, confused, as Gwen leaves. Becky takes the opportunity to make a move on Newton, and asks him whether all of Gwen's stories were real. Newton answers that they were all true--not revealing that he lied about them--and chases after Gwen.
Newton stops Gwen as she is about to board a bus to leave town. Although she resists, Newton follows her example and begins telling an outlandish romantic story of something they supposedly did, which makes Gwen decide to stay. The film ends on the note of Newton and Gwen being happily married and living together in the house, watching a house being constructed for Ralph and Mary, who are officially "Bernie and Mary Duncle" in the eyes of the town and Newton's family. As Newton and Gwen go into the house to have sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, the final spoken words are of Newton saying "I love you, Gwen" and Gwen replying, "Actually, it's Jessica."
Cast
- Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
as Newton Davis - Goldie HawnGoldie HawnGoldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
as Gwen Duncle/Buckley/Phillips/ - Dana DelanyDana DelanyDana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
as Becky Metcalf - Julie HarrisJulie HarrisJulia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
as Edna Davis - Donald MoffatDonald MoffatDonald Moffat is an English-born actor, now a naturalized American citizen.-Early life:Moffat was born in Plymouth, Devon, the only child of Kathleen Mary and Walter George Moffat, who was an insurance agent. His parents ran a boarding house in Totnes...
as George Davis - Peter MacNicolPeter MacNicolPeter MacNicol is an American actor. He may be best known in films for his roles of Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II, Stingo in Sophie's Choice, Thomas Renfield in Dracula: Dead and Loving It and David Langley in Bean...
as Marty - Richard B. ShullRichard B. ShullRichard Bruce Shull was an American character actor.-Career:Shull was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Zana Marie , a court stenographer, and Ulysses Homer Shull, a manufacturing executive. Shull attended the University of Iowa and served in the U.S. Army before starting his Broadway career...
as Ralph / Bernie Duncle - Ken CheesemanKen CheesemanKen Cheeseman is an American film, television and stage actor. He may be best known for his appearances on the Law & Order franchise television series...
as Harv - Laurel Cronin as Mary / Mary Duncle
- Roy Cooper as Winston Moseby
- Christopher Durang as Reverend Lipton
Production
According to RottenTomatoes.com, the house featured in the film was designed by New York architects Trumbull & Associates. Christopher Lukenbeal's 1995 master's thesis A Geography in Film, A Geography of Film cites Debra Wassman of Trumbull: "the house is the real star of the film". Blueprints are available through Princeton Plans Press.The role of Gwen Phillips was initially offered to Meg Ryan
Meg Ryan
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra , professionally known as Meg Ryan, is an American actress and producer. Raised in Bethel, Connecticut, Ryan began her acting career in 1981 in minor roles, before joining the cast of the CBS soap opera As the World Turns in 1982...
, who pulled out from the movie due to her pregnancy. After Ryan pulled out of the project, the producers wanted Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
for the role of Gwen Phillips. However, Basinger also declined. As a result, Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
was eventually cast as Gwen Phillips.
Release and response
The film premiered in theatres on June 12, 1992 and performed reasonably well for a low-key comedy film. It earned $9,106,950 on its opening weekend and $58,500,635 for its entire theatrical run.The film was released on DVD on July 22, 1998, but contains no substantial extras.