Mouse Hunt

Mouse Hunt is a 1997 American slapstick black comedy film written by Adam Rifkin and directed by Gore Verbinski in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Maury Chaykin, and Christopher Walken. The film follows two Laurel and Hardy-like brothers in their struggle against one small but crafty house mouse for possession of a mansion which was willed to them by their father. While the film is set in the late 20th century, styles range humorously from the 1940s to the 1990s. It was the first family film to be released by DreamWorks Pictures, who released it in the United States on December 19, 1997, to mixed reviews, but was a commercial success. This was one of William Hickey's final roles before he died, and the film was dedicated in memory of him. Plot When the once-wealthy string magnate Rudolf Smuntz dies, he leaves his factory and an abandoned Victorian mansion to his two sons; the dutiful and optimistic Lars, and venal cynic Ernie, who has ignored the family business to become a chef; he walks out of the reading of their father's will, taking a box of cigars. At Ernie's restaurant, a cockroach crawls out of the box and into a dish prepared for the mayor, causing him to have a fatal heart attack when he accidentally bites into the cockroach's head. Ernie's restaurant is shut down; causing him to lose his career and his home. Meanwhile, cord company Zeppco International offers Lars a buyout for the string factory, but Lars refuses after remembering a promise he made his father; Lars' greedy wife, April, kicks him out. Lars and Ernie (who just started working in a cheap diner) meet up, and with nowhere else to go, they spend the night in the mansion.