Themes: Single Parents, First Love, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Anton Yelchin, Téa Leoni, David Duchovny, Robin Williams, Erykah Badu
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Actor David Duchovny made his debut as a director and screenwriter with this coming-of-age drama, in which a grown man looks back at his adolescence. It's 1973, and Tommy (Anton Yelchin) is a 13-year-old boy living in New York's Greenwich Village with his mother (Téa Leoni), who is still coming to terms with the death of her husband. Tommy's best friend is Pappass (Robin Williams), a mentally challenged man who is in his thirties, but is at the same emotional age as Tommy; Pappass delivers meat for a local butcher, and Tommy helps him out. Tommy has discovered women, and has a crush on Melissa (Zelda Williams), a cute girl in his class, but Pappass isn't much interested in the opposite sex, and can offer little advice on the subject. Tommy's lone confidante on this issue is Lady Bernadette (Erykah Badu), a woman locked up in the nearby Women's House of Detention who offers advice shouted from her window. When Pappass begins to realize that Tommy is falling for Melissa, he's convinced he's losing his best friend, and in a moment of anger he steals a bicycle. Tommy tries to protect Pappas by claiming he was the thief, leading to a series of serious repercussions. Years later, Tommy (now played by Duchovny) is a grown man who leaves his home in Paris, France, to pay a visit to the old neighborhood and come to terms with the life he left behind. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Magali Amadei - Coralie Warshaw; Harold Cartier - Odell Warshaw; Mark Margolis - Mr. Pappass; Zelda Williams - Melissa; Alice Drummond - Mrs. Brevoort; Willie Garson - Ticket Agent; Frank Langella - Reverend Duncan; Adam Le Fevre - Monty; Leslie Lyles - Sondra; Bernie Sheredy - Sasha; Stephen Spinella - Ticket Seller; Michael Chapman - Doorman; Lisby Larson - Mrs. Loggia; Lester Cohen - Irate Trotskyite; Andrée Damant - French Woman in Window; Orlando Jones - Superfly; Jonah Meyerson - Kid #2; Claire Lautier - Madam Chatquipet; Erica N. Tazel - Reader; Olga Sosnovska - Simone; Francesca Buccellato - Mrs. Robinson; Roksolana Toporowych - Miss Johnson; Gideon Jacons - Gerard; Mark Richard Keith - Pitcher; James Ockimey - Another Kid; Jill Shackner - Lead Girl in Gym; Etienne Drabier - French Man in Window; Chantal Guarrigues - French Wife in Window; Mary A. Fortune - Nurse #1
Credit
Teresa Mastropiero - Art Director, George Leong - Boom Operator, Avy Kaufman - Casting, Lisa Shriver - Choreography, Brad Warnaar - Conductor, David Gaines - Co-producer, Melanie Greene - Co-producer, Ellen Lutter - Costume Designer, Ellen Luter - Costume Designer, Todd Pfeiffer - First Assistant Director, Todd Pheiffer - First Assistant Director, David Duchovny - Director, Suzy Elmiger - Editor, Zanne Devine - Executive Producer, Adam Merims - Executive Producer, Jeff Skoll - Executive Producer, Jackie Payne - Hair Styles, Rose Viggiano - Location Manager, Geoff Zanelli - Composer (Music Score), Amanda Demme - Musical Direction/Supervision, Buck Damon - Musical Direction/Supervision, Cheri Minns - Makeup, Francesca Buccellato - Makeup, David Knox - Camera Operator, Douglas Pellegrino - Camera Operator, Lester Cohen - Production Designer, Michael Chapman - Cinematographer, Richard Barton Lewis - Producer, Jane Rosenthal - Producer, Bob Yari - Producer, Richard B. Lewis - Producer, Robert Carr - Recording, Jennifer Greenberg - Set Designer, William Sarokin - Sound/Sound Designer, Manny Siverio - Stunts Coordinator, Blair Breard - Unit Production Manager, David Duchovny - Screenwriter, Marshall Johnson - Production Assistant, Pier DiCarlo - Production Assistant, Daniel Hypes - Production Assistant, Marlo Pabon - Visual Effects Supervisor, Bradley North - Sound Effects Editor, William Jacobs - Sound Effects Editor, Robert Katz - Executive in Charge of Production, Peter J. Silbermann - Unit Publicist, Philip Harrison - Associate Editor, Hans Zimmer - Executive Music Producer, Angelo Digiacomo - First Assistant Camera, Mike Cambria - First Assistant Camera, Collin Quinlan - Gaffer, Rob Exner - Grip, Steve Girouard - Grip, Brian Palko - Grip, Eric Ulrich - Grip, Tom Kerwick - Key Grip, James Burt - Music Editor, George Doering - Musical Performer, Walfredo Reyes - Musical Performer, Suzie Katayama - Musical Performer, Martin Tillman - Musical Performer, Sid Page - Musical Performer, Bob Becker - Musical Performer, Denyse Buffum - Musical Performer, Darius Campo - Musical Performer, Larry Corbett - Musical Performer, Bruce Dukov - Musical Performer, Michael Finnigan - Musical Performer, Berj Garabedian - Musical Performer, Michael Lang - Musical Performer, Lee Sklar - Musical Performer, Dan Smith - Musical Performer, Tina Soule - Musical Performer, Alan Steinberger - Musical Performer, David Stone - Musical Performer, Michael Valerio - Musical Performer, Sally Anne Edger - Post Production Coordinator, Anita Sum - Production Coordinator, Michael Bederman - Production Supervisor, Dylan Sheridan - Properties Master, Gary Archer - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, G.A. Enterprises - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Rick Hart - Re-Recording Mixer, Sheila Paige - Script Supervisor, Timothy Donohue - Second Assistant Director, Michael Meador - Second Assistant Director, William Shackleton Arnot - Steadicam Operator, Sandy Hays - Steadicam Operator, Larry Watson - Still Photographer, Byron Wilson - Supervising Sound Editor, Alex Thiesen - Visual Effects Producer, Derek Baskerville - Costume/Wardrobe, Kimberly McCord-Wilson - ADR Editor, Barbara Presar - Assistant Costumer Designer, Peter Pastorelli - Assistant Location Manager, Wendy Taylor - Assistant Location Manager, April Brooks - Assistant Production Coordinator, Kathryn Freund - Assistant Properties, Roksolana Toporowych - Assistant Properties, Michael C. Price - Best Boy Electric, William M. Weberg - Best Boy Grip, Jared Roybal - Camera Loader, Jessica Daniels - Casting Assistant, Cody P. Beke - Casting Assistant, Elizabeth Greenberg - Casting Associate, Richard Hebrank - Construction Coordinator, Pashelle L. Clayton - Costumes Supervisor, Careen Fowles - Costumes Supervisor, Scott G.G. Haller - Dialogue Editor, Josh Roth - Dolly Grip, Ryan Quinlan - Electrician, John Flanagan - Electrician, Eric Kutner - Electrician, Karen E. Etcoff - Extra Casting, Kee Casting - Extra Casting, Hilary Peabody - First Assistant Editor, Jerry Trent - Foley Artist, Bradley North - Foley Editor, Dale Brownell - Key Hairstylist, Chris Bingham - Key Make-up, Mark Newman - Leadman, Mason Steinberg - Personal Assistant, Michelle Dingoor - Personal Assistant, Jamie Gregor - Personal Assistant, Bobby Tahouri - Personal Assistant, Angela Bellisio - Second Assistant Camera, Cristian Trova - Second Assistant Camera, Deanna Leslie Kelly - Second Second Assistant Director, Adam Weisengel - Second Second Assistant Director, Tom La Vecchia - Set Dresser, Donna Paul - Set Dresser, Diane Soffian - Set Dresser, RJ Wilson - Set Dresser, Sarah Rae Garrett - Set Production Assistant, Aaron David Forste - Set Production Assistant, Andrew Fiero - Set Production Assistant, Patricia Arbelaez - Set Production Assistant, Simone George - Set Production Assistant, Jennifer Greenberg - Set Decorator, Chris Trent - Foley Recordist, Greg Farrell - Generator Operator, Derrick West - Video Assist, Alex Stapleton - Art Department Coordinator
An American artist living a bohemian existence in Paris, Tom Warshaw (David Duchovny) is trying to make sense of his troubled adult life by reflecting upon his extraordinary childhood. There is a flashback to Greenwich Village in 1973, as 13-year-old Tommy (Anton Yelchin) is on the brink of becoming a man. While his bereaved single mother (Téa Leoni) mourns the death of his father, Tommy escapes grief by causing trouble at school and making afternoon deliveries with his best friend Pappas (Robin Williams), a mentally challenged janitor. Following the romantic advice offered by Lady (Erykah Badu) - incarcerated in the infamous New York Women's House of Detention for shadowy reasons - Tommy experiences his first taste of love. Yet when an unexpected tragedy radically alters his world, Tommy must take a life-defining choice - one that will compel the adult Tom Warshaw, thirty years later, to confront his unfinished past.
House of D was given a score of 10% on Rotten Tomatoes with a consensus calling it "A sincere but inept coming of age story." It has received a composite 6.7/10 score by voters on the Internet Movie Database. Box Office Mojo gives the reviews a C+. Many critics attribute the poor reception to the fact that Duchovny wrote, directed and edited the movie, which gave it a lack of creative direction and caused it to meander and to lose focus.
Box office
The film was released in theaters on April 15, 2005. It grossed $36,371 during its opening week. The next week it grossed $7,441. In the film's third week, it grossed $210,826, the most during its run. In the film's fourth and final week, it grossed $30,386, a total of $371,081 worldwide.
DVD release
The DVD was released on October 4th, 2005. The DVD contains special features, such as commentary with David Duchovny and the cast and a behind-the-scenes featurette called The Making of House of D.
