Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Down-on-their luck brothers, Lars and Ernie Smuntz, aren't happy with the crumbling old mansion they inherit... until they discover the estate is worth millions. Before they can cash in, they have to rid the house of its single, stubborn occupant—a tiny and tenacious mouse.
MouseHunt is a competent and charming late-90s family slapstick comedy. The plot is a straightforward man-vs-mouse escalation that borrows heavily from classic cartoon chase dynamics, serviceable but thin. Nathan Lane and Lee Evans deliver energetic, committed physical performances that elevate the material beyond its script. The cinematography by Julio Macat has some inventive mouse-eye-view shots and good production design in the crumbling mansion, but nothing truly distinctive. The film has a certain nostalgic charm and leans into its Looney Tunes-style absurdism with enough commitment to feel somewhat singular, though it treads well-worn ground. The ending is abrupt and tonally inconsistent, failing to fully pay off the comedic escalation built throughout.