Carpool (film)
Encyclopedia
Carpool is a 1996 comedy film
directed by Arthur Hiller
and starring David Paymer
and Tom Arnold
.
), has an important business meeting, but finds himself having to drive the neighborhood carpool
for his sons, Bucky Miller (Micah Gardener) and Andrew Miller (Mikey Kovar), and their friends, Chelsea (Colleen Rennison
), Kayla (Rachel Leigh Cook
), and Travis (Jordan Blake Warkol), when his wife, Mrs. Miller (Stellina Rusich), gets sick. Stopping to get Danish
for the kids at Hammerman's Gourmet To Go grocery store, things go even more awry when he finds himself a victim of a robbery. The situation worsens as Franklin Laszlo (Tom Arnold
), a desperate carnival owner of Laszlo Bros. Carnival who had been contemplating a bank robbery
of Puget Savings and Loan, robs the robbers and takes Daniel and the kids hostage
in their Toyota Previa
van as his truck is blocked by an armored car. A comedic car chase ensues through Seattle. Daniel discovers his kids and their friends do not really respect him and they react better to Franklin.
rating at 15/100 and Rotten Tomatoes
giving the film a 0% rating.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...
and starring David Paymer
David Paymer
David Paymer is an American actor and television director, seen in such films as Quiz Show, Searching for Bobby Fischer, City Slickers, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Carpool, The American President, Ocean's Thirteen, and Drag Me to Hell...
and Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold (actor)
Thomas Dwaine "Tom" Arnold is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies . He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period for four years.-Early life:...
.
Plot
Workaholic advertising executive of Bauer & Cole, Daniel Miller (David PaymerDavid Paymer
David Paymer is an American actor and television director, seen in such films as Quiz Show, Searching for Bobby Fischer, City Slickers, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Carpool, The American President, Ocean's Thirteen, and Drag Me to Hell...
), has an important business meeting, but finds himself having to drive the neighborhood carpool
Carpool
Carpooling , is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car....
for his sons, Bucky Miller (Micah Gardener) and Andrew Miller (Mikey Kovar), and their friends, Chelsea (Colleen Rennison
Colleen Rennison
Colleen Rennison is a Canadian singer/songwriter and actress of feature films, television movies and television series.- Life and career :...
), Kayla (Rachel Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
), and Travis (Jordan Blake Warkol), when his wife, Mrs. Miller (Stellina Rusich), gets sick. Stopping to get Danish
Danish pastry
Danish pastry is a sweet pastry which has become a specialty of Denmark and neighbouring Scandinavian countries and is popular throughout the industrialized world, although the form it takes can differ significantly from country to country...
for the kids at Hammerman's Gourmet To Go grocery store, things go even more awry when he finds himself a victim of a robbery. The situation worsens as Franklin Laszlo (Tom Arnold
Tom Arnold (actor)
Thomas Dwaine "Tom" Arnold is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies . He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period for four years.-Early life:...
), a desperate carnival owner of Laszlo Bros. Carnival who had been contemplating a bank robbery
Bank robbery
Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
of Puget Savings and Loan, robs the robbers and takes Daniel and the kids hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
in their Toyota Previa
Toyota Previa
The Toyota Previa, also known as the Toyota Estima in Japan and the Toyota Tarago in Australia, is an MPV or multi-purpose vehicle produced by Toyota Motor Corporation since 1990...
van as his truck is blocked by an armored car. A comedic car chase ensues through Seattle. Daniel discovers his kids and their friends do not really respect him and they react better to Franklin.
Cast
- David PaymerDavid PaymerDavid Paymer is an American actor and television director, seen in such films as Quiz Show, Searching for Bobby Fischer, City Slickers, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Carpool, The American President, Ocean's Thirteen, and Drag Me to Hell...
as Daniel Miller, workaholic husband and father of two sons (Bucky and Andrew) - Tom ArnoldTom Arnold (actor)Thomas Dwaine "Tom" Arnold is an American actor and comedian. He has appeared in many films, perhaps most notably True Lies . He was the host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period for four years.-Early life:...
as Franklin Laszlo, desperate carnival owner of Laszlo Bros. Carnival - Rhea Perlman as Martha, a Metropolitan Seattle Police parking enforcement officer
- Rod SteigerRod SteigerRodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
as Mr. Hammerman, owner of Hammerman's Gourmet To Go - Kim CoatesKim CoatesKim Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American movies and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Theatre...
as Detective Erdman, Lieutenant of the Metropolitan Seattle Police Department - Rachel Leigh CookRachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
as Kayla, older sister of Chelsea and one of Franklin's hostages - Mikey Kovar as Andrew Miller, younger son of Daniel Miller, younger brother of Bucky, and one of Franklin's hostages
- Micah Gardener as Bucky Miller, older son of Daniel Miller, older brother of Andrew, and one of Franklin's hostages
- Jordan Blake Warkol as Travis, a bizarre boy on the carpool and one of Franklin's hostages
- Colleen RennisonColleen RennisonColleen Rennison is a Canadian singer/songwriter and actress of feature films, television movies and television series.- Life and career :...
as Chelsea, younger sister of Kayla and one of Franklin's hostages - Ian TraceyIan TraceyIan Tracey is a Canadian Leo- and Gemini Award-winning actor. Over the years, Tracey has participated in over seventy films and television series. Tracey has starred in series like Da Vinci's Inquest and Intelligence, both CBC television series produced by long-time colleague Chris Haddock...
as Neil, one of the original robber of Hammerman's Gourmet To Go - John Trench as Jerry, the other original robber of Hammerman's Gourmet To Go
- Stellina Rusich as Mrs. Miller, wife of Daniel Miller and mother of Bucky and Andrew Miller
- David KayeDavid KayeDavid V. Hope , known professionally as David Kaye, is a Canadian American actor who is better recognized for his work as a voice actor...
as Scott Lewis - Obba BabatundèObba BabatundeObba Babatundé is an American actor of stage and screen, known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, a NAACP Image Award-nominated performance in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and a Tony Award-nominated role for his performance as C.C...
as Jeffery - Edie McClurgEdie McClurgEdie McClurg is an American character actress. She is known for her perky North Central dialect , common to persons from Middle America.-Career:...
, Kathleen FreemanKathleen FreemanKathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois...
, and Miriam FlynnMiriam FlynnMiriam Flynn is an American voice actress and character actress. She is best known as Cousin Catherine in the National Lampoon's Vacation franchise. As a voice artist, she has been featured in The Land Before Time series, Taz-Mania as the title character's mother, Jean, Poil in The Spooktacular...
as Voices of Franklin's mother
Reception
The film received universally poor reviews, with many critics panning its poor plot and acting, with a MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
rating at 15/100 and Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
giving the film a 0% rating.