The House (2017 film)
The House is a 2017 American comedy film directed by Andrew J. Cohen, and co-written by Cohen and Brendan O'Brien. The film stars Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Jason Mantzoukas, Ryan Simpkins, Nick Kroll, Allison Tolman, Rob Huebel, Michaela Watkins, and Jeremy Renner, and follows a couple who open an underground casino in their friend's house in order to pay for their daughter's college tuition. Principal photography began on September 14, 2015, in Los Angeles. The film was released on June 30, 2017, by Warner Bros. Pictures, received negative reviews from critics and flopped at the box office, grossing $34 million worldwide against its $40 million budget. Plot During their visit to Bucknell University, husband and wife Scott and Kate Johansen warn their daughter of the dangers of being in college. Alex acknowledges her parents' warnings and expresses her interest in attending the same university her parents went to. Alex gets accepted to the university, which the Johansens expect to be funded by their community's scholarship program. Unfortunately, during a community town hall meeting, city councilor Bob Schaeffer announces that they will not be doing the scholarship program, in favor of building a community pool, to which everyone agrees except the Johansens. The couple tries to find funding through asking for a loan, a salary raise for Scott, and getting Kate's job back, but everything is denied. They reluctantly agree to accompany their friend and neighbor, Frank Theodorakis, whose wife Raina is divorcing him over his gambling and porn addiction, to a previously-planned trip to Las Vegas. After numerous wins playing craps, they lose their winnings after Scott jinxes the table by telling Frank not to roll a seven. Back home, Frank convinces the Johansens to start an underground casino at his house to raise money for Alex's tuition and to help him get his wife back. The casino operation proves to be running smoothly as they gain more customers. In another community town-hall meeting, Bob becomes suspicious at the low attendance and suspends the meeting to launch an investigation. Back at the Johansens' casino, Frank discovers that one of the gamblers, Carl, is counting cards. The Johansens and Frank confront him, but he brags that he works for mob boss Tommy Papouli. Scott accidentally chops off Carl's middle finger, earning him the nickname "The Butcher", making the community afraid of him, which inadvertently increases their profits. Several thousand dollars away from reaching their goal, they are caught by Bob and Officer Chandler, who confiscate their money and order them to close down the casino. Nonetheless, they continue their business. The house burns down after being invaded by Papouli, whom the Johansens set on fire. Having admitted their plot to Alex, they team up with Chandler, who had let them loose, to steal the money back from Bob. Chandler convinces Bob that the three continued the casino even after he had ordered them to stop, and shows a video of the people mocking him. Bob asks Chandler to go with him