Synopsis
When Scott and Kate Johansen’s daughter gets into the college of her dreams it’s cause for celebration. That is, until Scott and Kate learn that the scholarship they were counting on didn’t come through, and they’re now on the hook for tuition they can’t begin to afford. With the help of their friend and neighbor Frank also in need of a major payday they decide to open an illegal casino in his suburban house, risking everything together on a Vegas-style bacchanal where money flows, inhibitions are checked at the door, and all bets are off.
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Cast
- Amy PoehlerKate Johansen
- Will FerrellScott Johansen/The Butcher
- Jason MantzoukasFrank
- Ryan SimpkinsAlex Johansen
- Nick KrollBob Schaeffer
- Allison TolmanDawn Mayweather
- Rob HuebelOfficer Chandler
- Christina OffleyDavida
- Jessie EnnisRachel
- Rory ScovelJoe
Recommendations
- 80
IGN
The House isn’t quite another Will Ferrell classic but it’s a solid comedy offering that’s well put together and very funny. It’s as smart as it is stupid, it’s very entertaining, it delivers on what you’d expect it to and holds a few neat surprises. - 50
TheWrap
You get flashes of the clever comedy this might have been — a funny line here, an amusing bit of business there, the occasional whiff of relevance — but it too often lumbers along, coasting on the backs of some very talented performers. - 40
The Guardian
The exuberant comic talents of Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler are largely wasted in this uninspired addition to the frat movie canon, which resembles reheated leftovers of the Hangover, albeit with a curious detour into some heavy bloodletting. - 38
Movie Nation
It all feels random and slapped together, with seriously under-developed heroes, villains, over-the-top geyser-of-blood violence played for laughs. - 38
Slant Magazine
The House's limp comedic pieces are only sporadically enlivened by a game cast. - 30
Variety
The House, like too many Hollywood comedies of outrage, turns the extreme into the innocuous. - 25
Chicago Sun-Times
Despite the pairing of the eminently likable and talented Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler as the leads, and about a dozen recognizable (and usually funny) supporting players, The House is a fetid, cheap-looking, depressing and occasionally even mean-spirited disaster. - 25
RogerEbert.com
In theory, these actors should be able to just show up, be themselves, tap into their formidable improvisational abilities and let the laughs flow freely. In reality, though, movies require scripts. They require actual characters and dialogue and narratives that evolve in ways that are logical, or at least engaging.
