Carpool (1996 film)

Workaholic Daniel Miller is forced to drive his sons, Bucky and Andrew, to school when his wife, Diane, falls ill with a stomach bug. He is in the middle of a huge advertising campaign for Hammerman's, a large chain of gourmet markets, and initially refuses the drive until Diane guilts him. Along with Bucky and Andrew, two local girls; Kayla and her younger sister, Chelsea, as well as local weirdo Travis, join Daniel's reluctant carpool. Meanwhile, Franklin Laszlo, owner of the failing Laszlo Brothers Carnival, reluctantly decides to commit armed robbery in order to get the money to keep his business open. As he leaves to attempt it, he enters a local Hammerman's where Daniel is purchasing baked goods for the children. A duo of gunmen named Neil and Jerry also plan to rob the market by coincidence. When they hold it up, a standoff ensues between them, Franklin, an old woman, and off-duty local detective Lt. Erdman. Through a series of misunderstandings, Franklin ends up taking Daniel as his hostage and escaping with the money Neil and Jerry had stolen from the market's safe. Heading to the van, Franklin ends up kidnapping Daniel and the children. The group eventually bonds with one another through a series of misadventures; stopping at a hair salon so Andrew can use the restroom, evading the police with disguises, and eventually being chased by Martha, an obsessive meter maid. Franklin reveals to the group that the reason behind his robbery and kidnapping was that he desperately needed the money so he could keep his business open and give his son, Keith, who lives with his ex-wife, a present for his 12th birthday.

Eventually, Franklin takes the group to his carnival, where the children enjoy the rides. Neil and Jerry arrive soon after, having tracked Franklin through his wallet, which he dropped in Hammerman's, and demand the grocery money. A fight ensues, with the controls to the Ferris wheel being damaged. Daniel uses his presentation materials to jam the ride's mechanism and climbs up to rescue Andrew. Franklin ties up Neil and Jerry, locks them in the Zipper, and gets his wallet back. Daniel realizes that he's far too late to attend his pitch meeting, but Franklin manages to convince him otherwise. He arrives at the office hours late and greatly unprepared, but he uses his experience to successfully convince Mr. Hammerman that children don't like his chain, and that a revamp to something more kid-friendly would help. Franklin likes the idea as Daniel gains the backbone to tell Mr. Hammerman that he quits. Eventually, Erdman and the police arrive to arrest Franklin, but they soon let him go when Daniel reveals why he tried to rob the market and doesn't want to press charges. Sometime later, Franklin and Daniel have become co-owners of the carnival, with Mr. Hammerman supplying the food. Everything seems to be all right at the end, until Franklin realizes that he missed a lunch date with his mother, who is seen destroying a local Sizzler over the closing credits.

The film was directed by Arthur Hiller. Hiller was also the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at that time. The script was written by Don Rhymer.^[5]. The film was shot throughout Vancouver.