Houseguest is on HBO on Demand, for all of you folks with premium cable, or sleeping over at a place with one. The film stands the test of time, whatever test of time one would put on a Sinbad-Phil Hartman vehicle from 1995. Here's the synopsis:
Kevin Franklin is a con man [actually, unsuccessful entrepreneur] whose mouth is bigger than him, but it doesn't help him much when he's in with the mob for $50,000. Trying to avoid a gambling addict boss and his two stupid henchmen, Kevin poses as a childhood friend [Derek Bond, a successful dentist] to Gary Young, a workaholic father whose own life is in turmoil in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb.
My current favorite scene is in the beginning of the film. Sinbad/Kevin Franklin impersonates successful dentist Derek Bond at career day at a local school. Dr. Ichabod, a teacher in the science department, looks skeptical that Sinbad is who is he is as he hears him speak extemporaneously during his slide presentation, which consisted entirely of gross dental slides. Anyone who's done a Q and A after a book reading would love to do a version of
Dr. Ichabod: In chapter 5 of your book, you said there are many things you would do differently if you could do them over again. What did you mean by that?
Sinbad/Franklin/Bond: Um, Chapter 5?
Dr. Ichabod: In your book.
Sinbad/Franklin/Bond: What I meant by that when I put that in there was that I padded the book, immensely. I probably should have eliminated chapter 5 and skipped to chapter 6. But you have to have 5 in order to get to 6.
Dr. Ichabod: You don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about, do you?
Sinbad/Franklin/Bond: [Enraged.] What? Well, listen here. So if you know so much of what I do, if you know more than I do, why don't you come up here Mr. Smartypants, Mr. I-Don't-Have-a-Woman, why don't you come up here and tell me, Mr. Ichy Body, what I do?
Talk about Death of the Author. There's a Du Bois double-consciousness quote I should mention, too. You could also just say it's freakin' funny.Labels: and raves, rants, Riffs
