‘Housesitter’: 8 Hilarious Facts About the Wacky Film Starring Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin
Learn why 1992 was one of Goldie Hawn's best years!
Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin are two of the funniest and most charismatic stars around. Both industry veterans, they teamed up for the first time in the 1992 comedy Housesitter, the story of a struggling architect, Newton Davis (Martin) who builds his dream home — only to have his girlfriend leave him and then have his life turned upside-down by Gwen (Hawn), a sassy schemer who cons her way into living in the house and poses as his wife.
It’s the kind of silly, star-driven comedy they don’t often make anymore, and while it’s obvious that Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn‘s characters will ultimately end up together, it’s still a lot of fun to watch. Here are eight fascinating facts about the film.
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1. Goldie Hawn wasn’t originally going to be in Housesitter
It’s hard to believe that a devious yet lovably quirky role like Gwen could go to anyone other than Goldie Hawn, but she actually wasn’t originally supposed to be in Housesitter. Another charming blonde leading lady, Meg Ryan, was originally set to star, but she dropped out due to creative differences, as she didn’t think Gwen had enough motivation for her strange behavior. Hawn then signed on, and the rest is history.
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2. There were some fun promotions for the film
Because the film centered around a house, promotions for it featured enviable real estate. To drum up hype around the film’s release, there was a sweepstakes in which the grand-prize winner would receive a log cabin in Montana. Another prize included a weeklong opportunity to housesit at a mansion in Beverly Hills, California.
3. It was the first time Steve and Goldie starred together
Given their longtime status as comedy icons, it’s easy to assume Steve and Goldie would’ve starred in something together before the ’90s, but Housesitter was actually their first movie together. They shared the screen again in The Out-of-Towners, a 1999 remake of the 1970 film, but it didn’t fare nearly as well at the box office as their earlier collaboration.
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4. The Housesitter house became famous
The house in Housesitter is nearly as much of a star as Martin and Hawn. The house was based on a design from the New York architecture firm Trumbull & Associates, and blueprints of it were made available to purchase. According to a contemporary newspaper article, at least 60 houses in 25 states were built from the blueprints. We can’t help but wonder if anyone is still living in a Housesitter house 32 years later!
5. A famous designer got her start on the film
Kelly Wearstler was a set production assistant on Housesitter. Today, she’s well known as an in-demand designer who has her own line of luxury home goods and has designed homes for celebrities like Gwen Stefani and Cameron Diaz. Housesitter clearly set her up for success!
6. The director had a surprising resume
Housesitter was directed by Frank Oz, who previously worked with Martin on Little Shop of Horrors (1986) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988). Oz isn’t just a director — he was also a puppeteer, and played Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal and Sam Eagle on The Muppet Show and Cookie Monster, Bert and Grover on Sesame Street. He also played Yoda in the Star Wars movies.
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7. Housesitter was shot on location
Housesitter wasn’t shot in Hollywood. It takes place in Boston, and was filmed there. Filming also took place in Concord, Carlisle and Cohasset, Massachusetts.
8. It was a big year for Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn was on the top of her game in Housesitter (in fact, film critic Roger Ebert said it was one of her best performances). The film came out on June 12, 1992. Just over a month later, on July 31, 1992, another classic Goldie blockbuster, Death Becomes Her, was released. It’s safe to say the summer of ’92 was a great season for Goldie fans!
