Mousehunt (1997)

Director:

Gore Verbinski

Writer (WGA):

Adam Rifkin (written by)

Release Date:

19 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

The funniest movie of the year!

Plot:

Two stumblebum inheritors are determined to rid their antique house of a mouse who is equally determined to stay where he is.

Plot Keywords:

Mouse | Factory | Auction | String Factory | Part Computer Animation

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Nathan Lane	...	Ernest "Ernie" Smuntz
Lee Evans	...	Lars Smuntz
Vicki Lewis	...	April Smuntz
Maury Chaykin	...	Alexander Falko
Eric Christmas	...	Ernie and Lars' Lawyer
Michael Jeter	...	Quincy Thorpe
Debra Christofferson	...	Ingrid
Camilla Søeberg	...	Hilde, the Bench Lady (as Camilla Soeberg)
Ian Abercrombie	...	Auctioneer
Annabelle Gurwitch	...	Roxanne Atkins
Eric Poppick	...	The Banker
Ernie Sabella	...	Maury, the Cat Care Society Owner
William Hickey	...	Rudolph Smuntz
Christopher Walken	...	Caeser, the Exterminator
Cliff Emmich	...	Mayor McKrinle

Also Known As:

Mouse Hunt (International: English title) (alternative spelling)
Mouse Trap (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for language, comic sensuality and mayhem.

Runtime:

98 min | Germany:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Philippines:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G (TV rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Belgium:KT | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Bass Lake, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Eric Christmas' last film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Ernie is shot through the chimney into the nearby lake, ear plugs are visible once he sinks down on the bath tub.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lars: [at their father's funeral, they carry his coffin down the steps of a cathedral] Hold your end up higher, you're not holding it.
Ernie: I am too.
Lars: You are not.
Ernie: Don't worry about me. Hey, isn't that suit charcoal?
Lars: No.
Ernie: Looks charcoal gray to me, some gray polyester blend. Couldn't even find a black suit for your own father's funeral.
Lars: It's black.
Ernie: No, I'm sure it's gray.
Lars: It's black.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)

Soundtrack:

We're In The Money

Genius

When I first saw this movie in the theater, I did not really know what to expect. In the end, I never laughed so hard in my life. Granted, its not everyone's kind of humor (which certainly can be seen by the IMDB people that trashed it) but it is an extremely intelligent, yet slapstick dark comedy that may have you rolling on the floor.

I do not think that this movie is good for kids. From the very beginning, the movie isn't afraid to "cross the line" by causing upheaval at a funeral. But it handles things without the gratuitous use of sex, unlike most comedies these days.

Some of the funniest things about Mousehunt are in the details. (Keep an eye on the painting...) But the thing that I enjoyed the most was how the mouse was interweaved into the rest of the story. Although the movie isn't really about a mouse (it was about two brothers coming together in the wake of their father's death), I think we all could use a little chaos in our lives once in a while.