Carpool 1996

A frenetic advertising executive’s routine day spirals into a chaotic, heartwarming misadventure in this offbeat dramedy that keeps a family bond at its core. Starring Tom Arnold and David Paymer, the story opens with a workaholic father racing against time as his wife, Diane, falls sick with a stomach bug. With his big ad campaign for Hammerman’s—the expansive chain of gourmet markets—hanging in the balance, he initially refuses to drive his kids to school until Diane’s guilt trip nudges him toward the carpool. What starts as a reluctant ride soon swells into a motley convoy: his two sons, Bucky and Andrew, join him; Kayla and her younger sister Chelsea hop in as well; and a local oddball named Travis tags along, turning a simple commute into a floating neighborhood of personalities.

As the group winds through town, a parallel thread unfolds. Franklin Laszlo, the beleaguered owner of Laszlo Brothers Carnival, faces a dead-end future and reluctantly decides to pull off an armed robbery to keep his business afloat. The scene collides with Hammerman’s when Franklin steps into the market where the father is buying treats for the kids. Coincidentally, a duo of gunmen, Neil and Jerry, plan their own store robbery, setting into motion a tense standoff that draws in the old woman shopper, the off-duty detective Lt. Erdman, and ultimately Franklin. Through a cascade of misunderstandings, Franklin ends up taking the father hostage, escaping with money from the safe, and dragging Daniel and the children along as they flee toward an uncertain fate.

What follows is a string of misadventures that stitches a fragile, makeshift family together. The caravan stops for a restroom break at a hair salon; the group slips through disguises to dodge the pursuing police; and they’re chased by Martha, an obsessive meter maid who keeps a wary eye on their every move. Across this chaotic backdrop, Franklin’s real motive for the crime slowly comes into focus: the money exists not for greed but to rescue his carnival and give his son Keith a birthday present on his twelfth birthday, a detail that softens the harsh edges of his actions.

The escape leads the improvised band to the carnival itself, where the children can finally revel in rides and the carnival’s familiar glow. The pursuit tightens as Neil and Jerry close in, tracking Franklin by the wallet he dropped in Hammerman’s, and a confrontation erupts around the Ferris wheel. The ride’s controls crumble under pressure, and Daniel—with resourceful use of his presentation materials—manages to jam the mechanism and climb up to rescue Andrew. In a tense turn, Franklin overpowers Neil and Jerry, locking them in the ride’s Zipper ride as he retrieves his wallet. Despite the setback, Daniel realizes he’s too late to attend his original pitch meeting—yet Franklin, moved by their shared predicament, convinces him to proceed.

Back at the office, Daniel delivers a bold, if imperfect, pitch that frames a vision where children, rather than a sterile chain, shape a more appealing future for Hammerman’s. His experiences with the carpool and the carnival give him the backbone to tell Mr. Hammerman that he quits, a moment that shifts the balance of power and signals a new chapter. The authorities arrive to arrest Franklin, but Daniel intervenes with a candid revelation of why the robbery happened and his wish not to press charges. In a surprising turn of fate, the group’s fates converge into a new partnership: Franklin and Daniel become co-owners of the carnival, with Mr. Hammerman supplying the food and keeping the storefront stable.

As the closing credits roll, the film underscores a gentle reminder that even in the midst of chaos, family and collaboration can emerge from crisis. What began as a simple, fraught carpool becomes a catalyst for resilience and reconciliation, with the carnival’s future brightened by renewed purpose and shared responsibility. The final scenes hint at ongoing challenges and small, human disappointments, like Franklin missing a lunch date with his mother, who is seen reacting in a memorable way to a local Sizzler—an ending that plants a note of quirky humor in a story otherwise anchored in warmth and redemption.