Synopsis
After building his dream house, architect Newton Davis proposes marriage to his girlfriend, only to be summarily rejected. He seeks solace in a one-night stand with a waitress, never imagining that a woman he slept with once would end up posing as his wife. Gwen's ruse is so effective that by the time Newton learns of his "marriage," the entire town feels like they know him.
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Cast
- Steve MartinNewton Davis
- Goldie HawnGwen Phillips
- Dana DelanyBecky Metcalf
- Julie HarrisEdna Davis
- Donald MoffatGeorge Davis
- Peter MacNicolMarty
- Richard B. ShullRalph
- Laurel CroninMary
- Roy CooperWinston Moseby
- Christopher DurangReverend Lipton
Recommendations
- 80
TV Guide Magazine
HOUSESITTER starts out slowly and never stops being implausible or predictable. Neither Steve Martin nor Goldie Hawn do anything we haven't seen them do before, and neither of them play especially likeable characters. The strange thing is that, despite these failings, the movie is obstinately, sometimes painfully funny. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
The charm of the movie comes in the performances - in the way Martin and Hawn lie to themselves and each other - and in the dialog, which is endlessly inventive as one lie piles upon another, and the characters test each other with a high-wire act of falsehood. - 70
Time Out
For a romantic comedy, there's little in the way of romance, but the film's strength lies in the escalating lies concocted by Gwen as she struggles to maintain a toehold on her new life. Although it doesn't add up to a whole, and screenwriter Mark Stein fudges the issue of Gwen's motivation, he does provide some very funny, cheerfully contrived scams. - 60
Chicago Reader
If you're fond of Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn's physical talents for comedy even when they have slender material to work with, this occasionally amusing fluff can pass the time. - 50
The New York Times
Too much of the film seems unfinished. Almost every four scenes could be condensed into one. The comedy doesn't build to any climax. It just rolls on, with Ms. Hawn doggedly working to create some sense of oddball fun. The characters, as written, are as flimsy as Newton's dream house, which, even though based on a House Beautiful award-winning design, looks less habitable than a billboard. Even its brand-new furnishings are tacky. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Despite a high-powered cast and a zany/trendy concept, hardly anyone’s home in Housesitter. The result is much ado about too little, an occasionally amusing screwball farce made by people whose screws are barely loose at all. - 42
Entertainment Weekly
Every time Housesitter seems about to turn wild, it gets waterlogged with heart. - 40
Empire
All along, of course, we are supposed to realise they're made for each other, except that that's a little hard to swallow when there's so little chemistry between them.
