Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

richspenc I was in college when this movie came out in 1995, and me and my friends all thought it was hilarious then. Now, at age 40, I still find a lot of it still funny. Sinbad was very funny, but from an older perspective, he's sometimes a little too hyper excited. But that aspect is still minimal, and it's mainly in the first parts of the movie before Sinbad teams up with Phil Hartman. We get a couple more of the comic book style gangsters that we've seen in so many other 90s movies (I.e. "Getting even with dad", " Cop and a half","Man of the house"). And (the late) Phil and his wife could be a little brighter for not being able to see Sinbad as an imposter. But I've always let that part slide cause the scenes with Sinbad, Phil and his family were the best parts of the movie. I still find the part with Sinbad at the school assembly very funny. Same with Sinbad at the party at the house. And Sinbad's reaction to Phil calling every activity they do "the thing". And I've always liked Sinbad and Phil's chemistry together here. Phil Hartman is one of a number of great comic actors from the 80s and 90s I really liked that are no longer with us, such as Chris Farely, River Phoenix, and Corey Haim. Jeffery Jones definitely had had his day, but in "Houseguest", his " Ferris Bueller" funniness is long gone. But there's still some funny zanyness. I always shared Sinbad's fondness for McDonalds back then, back in the days when McDonalds burgers still tasted good. That was before the quality of McDonalds, Burger King, and a number of other fast food places went downhill. I still laughed at this movie. Like I said, a lot of the movie's still funny. It's on my long list of favorites from the 80s and 90s, the age of my youth.

frogsaroyan The plot is formulaic, the characters are trite. Even worse, the characters are all negative stereotypes without any parody with which to lampoon them. As such, the movie is nearer to a Saturday morning cartoon than to National Lampoon. It is not smart. Still, much of Sinbad's comic delivery is fun, I'll admit! His "award-acceptance" monologue near the beginning I find hilarious. I can picture a golden age icon like young Mickey Rooney or Jimmy Stewart doing the same scene with a zany innocence... but Sinbad is a comic for our times and because of the edginess of his character (who was set up to look like a petty criminal) that scene couldn't have been more funny. I also enjoy the tooth-removal sequence. It's comedy worthy of Jerry Lewis or Lucille Ball, and that the entire film is really a build up to that scene makes it forgivable. I watched it because mistaken/hidden identity stories are often funny... and I watch any and every movie with Jeffrey Jones.

smooth_op_85 Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) is a big man with big dreams but try telling that to his car that backfires so often that he probably doesn't go through the drive thru at McDonald's (his favorite place to eat). Growing up as an orphan money centric Kevin has tried to get it any way he can, by selling baseball cards, watching tapes on home based businesses and finally borrowing 5k from Happy, the local loan shark. When it comes time to collect none of these business opportunities have paid off in the least so he has two options. The two mobsters kill him or he can have another day of life and an opportunity to pay 50k he naturally takes the latter and decides to skip town which is when he runs into Gary Young (Phil Hartmann) who is looking for his uptight conservative Derek Bond (Ron Glass who's well known for his role in Barney Miller) and he pretends to be the real Derek Bond with hilarious results especially when trying to "remember" the childhood he had with Gary at Camp Maple Ridge and the lyrics to Goodnight Irene First: A presentation in which he BS's his way through with hilarity, trying to figure out the details of Derek Bond before a garden party that he livens up after a mishap with an ice cream machine and a wine tasting that would otherwise be uptight and conservative. As he bumbles through the time at the Youngs he realizes that their family though a shining example of the nuclear family with a successful Mom (owner of a yogurt franchise) and Dad (who works for a rival frozen desert company in town) but the kids are not exactly the Leave It To Beaver kids.The oldest girl has a thing for dead guys and depressing poetry wearing black all the time and has a boyfriend named Steve but he prefers ST3 he is simply the son of a Congressman who thinks he's a white boy who grew up in the hood around black people (those who have are often called white chocolate). The daughter is just--trying to find her voice as well but not in the best of ways, Kevin teaches her to embrace life and living things and to not let a guy like ST3 take advantage of her and Kevin teaches ST3 a lesson: Don't leave a chicken dinner for a chicken McNugget (this other girl he was with at a shop Kevin went to) by getting pretty creative. His Son Jason is obsessed with pleasing his dad who wants him to become an all star basketball player, Kevin teaches him confidence by teaming up with him to be victorious over a bunch of teenagers who hog the basketball court and wins their clothes. The youngest girl is ignored so he basically watches cartoons with her throughout his time at the Young Family Gary, the Father is pitted against his wife by being given a Beaver Meadows account that is going into a frozen yogurt business and he has a conflict of interest. When mentioning this to his boss, Mr Pike, Pike simply says that he knows that Gary is best for this eventually Kevin steps in saying that he needs to stand up to his boss and can it which he does, Gary then resolves to work as in home counsel for his wife.As all this is going on, the thugs are homing in on Kevin until their search leads them to the Young Residence with the real Derek Bond who then states that he is the real Derek Bond and that this man is an impostor. Then things make sense for Gary and the family after Kevin is taken away and the family then decides to go after him when the real Derek Bond berates Kevin as a two bit crook. Final chase happens between Kevin and the mobsters and they acquire a scratch off which can be worth a cool million, they then part ways with Kevin and let him go.One year later, Kevin is rich with that Porsche thanks to a Handbook for House-guests he published. Now that the Youngs know who he is and that he was being himself, they forge a continuing friendship with Kevin and his friend Larry, and the movie closes with food themed Christmas Classics showcasing the voice talents of Phil Hartmann and Sinbad This movie is wonderful for both their comic stylings. Phil Hartmann is a great reactor and his delivery is amazing. The garden party scene really does fit in with his style as well,it's a good movie that really makes him shine while also making his co stars shine too. It's more of a farce comedy that I give 6 out of 10 stars, a nice family comedy and all around fun. It has its shortcomings but I really don't see them when I look at its message, I'd say it's more like a tale of friendship and it's power to change people for the better.And that is my review

Zack Morris Kevin Franklin (Sinbad) finds himself in debt and is forced to pull off the hoax of the century by posing as an affluent dentist in suburbia, USA. Naturally, hilarity ensues as Franklin, a street smart con-man, is forced to adapt to the norms and conventions of middle-class white America. Expecting a conservative dentist, the host family bites off more than they can chew as Franklin turns their world upside down! Get ready to raise the roof!!! lol! But amid all this comedy is a great lesson about acceptance of other cultures and lifestyles. Not only does Sinbad change their lives, but something in Sinbad changes too. I just bought this on DVD (finally!) and haven't laughed this hard since "A Night With Sinbad" at the Dallas Convention Center in '96 where he introduced his now famous "peanut butter" bit!