Customer Reviews

Bringing Down the House

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(40)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

Steve Martin and Queen Latifah lead a wonderful cast in this surprisingly shocking, always enjoyable, laugh-out-loud comedy.

Peter Sanderson (Martin) is a divorcee who spends some of his personal time in a legal chat room, flirting with a woman he hasn't seen. His interest in her grows into a small infatuation after she sends a picture of herself via email. But when the two meet, he gets a big surprise. She's not the woman in the picture; at least not the woman seen up close in the picture. It turns out that she is an African American woman named Charlene Morton (Latifah), a criminal on parole who is seen getting arrested in the background of the picture she has sent. Slowly, Charlene begins to take over Peter's life, but perhaps that's a good thing. Despite his divorce, he and his ex-wife Kate (Jean Smart), still have feelings for each other. Having divorced because of his excessive work habits, Charlene tries to teach Peter the joys of life and how to appreciate the importance of his neglected family.

Veteran actresses Betty White and Joan Plowright are downright hilarious in their small roles, and Eugene Levy has an amusing role as Martin's best friend, who begins to fall head over heels for Charlene, further complicating matters.

Betty White is painfully funny and shocking as Martin's elderly neighbor. She is as racist as they come, jabbering cruel lines of racist dialogue (a less racy but more offensive send-up of her "Lake Placid" role). Don't take her comments to heart, though. The film is just trying to show how biggoted some people can be. (It's a shame how people like her actually exist.) Joan Plowright portrays a heiress client of Martin. She proves to be a great comedic actress, especially in the hilarious climactic nightclub scene.

Missi Pyle is fantastic as Kate's sister, a sort of Anna Nicole Smith type who takes pleasure out of dating older men. I could never have imagined Pyle in such a role, but she's great! Even Jean Smart is perfect for her role as the ex. Her Southern accent really gives her added sex appeal.

This is a predictable film, but it is also one of the funniest films to come out in the past year. It is a simple, smart, and fun comedy that's a pure joy to watch. Clever dialogue, touching moments, and a great cast are a plus. Martin and Latifah (so brilliant in Chicago) show off their wonderful comedic talents and have amazing chemistry together. The film is a bit raunchy at times, but oh so funny...recommended for a good hearty laugh!!!!

I love going to a movie where the audience laughs during the entire movie (intentionally, that is). I wasn't expected to have so much fun during this movie but it proved to be a laugh riot. Steve Martin and Queen Latifah make a great comedy team . The supporting actors only add to the fun. Betty White as Martin's racists/homophobic neighgbor, Joan Plowright as a rigid heiress that Martin needs to bring as a client to his law firm, and Eugene Levy is hilarious as Steve Martin's best friend at the law firm, who makes no qualms about his feelings for Latifah's Charlene. The fight scene between Latifah and actress Missi Pyle is worth the admission alone. I recommended this film to a friend at work who later told me that she and her husband thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm betting you will too. Its a great film to take a group of friends to and just laugh and be silly.

I caught a sneak preview. I was not quite sure what to expect when I went to see this but I like both Queen Latifah and Steve Martin and expected to have fun. The movie was a riot! Steve Martin is funny and uptight in a seemingly whole new way and the movie has lots of unexpected twists that both crank up the laughs and the plot. The whole theatre was in stitches
There is the natural play between Latifah from the "hood" and Martin from the "uppercrust" but I didn't feel messaged by the movie.
Everyone is different but just relax and go laugh at this one, even as I was watching it I wanted to come and see it again.

Good comedy is hard to find at the movies. I'm talking about a funny film full of punch lines, perfectly timed physical comedy, and most important, a naturally humorous plot line with characters we actually care about. If you think for a minute or two, it is tough to recall the last comedy you saw that had all these components.
The run off the mill romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days opened at the start of February. If you want to know how to lose a guy in ten days, you can easily lose him after 10 minutes of making him watch this. Two weeks later, the slapstick comedy Old School opened. Too bad it seems that the writer forgot to add a plot to all the overdone, and unoriginal gags. And now, another two weeks later on March 7th, Bringing Down the House will debut at theaters. I was lucky enough to catch this at a sneek showing that played last Saturday, 2 weeks before the movie actually opens!
Steve Martin and Queen Latifa star in what is the first, truly hilarious movie of 2003. This is definitely Martin's best since Father of the Bride, and the Queen continues her impressive film career adding this on to her resume, right under the ever-popular Chicago. Both have excellent skill in a film like this, and they work well with each other creating enough comic chemistry to blow the theater doors open.
The movies plot centers around Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin). He's a fast track lawyer with an ex-wife and two children that he never seems to have time for. While chatting online, he meets Charlene, and sets up a blind date to meet her. He's expecting a slim, blonde in her thirties, and is shocked when the hip, grooving Charlene Morton (Queen Latifa) shows up at his door.
The plot takes off from there as the odd pair starts a friendship, and while Charlene persuades him to take her criminal case ("I did the time, but I didn't do the crime baby"), she ends up teaching him more about life, relationships, and his family, than he has learned in a long time.
Though Steve Martin and Queen Latifa are the stars, an excellent, first-rate supporting cast surrounds them. First off, Eugene Levy, whom many of us know as Jim's dad from the American Pie franchise, plays Steve Martin's best friend and legal partner who becomes infatuated with Charlene's sex appeal. Other recognizable faces are a racist neighbor played by Betty White from the Golden Girls, and Joan Plowright, who co-starred as Mrs. Wilson in Dennis the Menace, as a prim and proper client of Peter Sanderson.
Martin hasn't seen a role this good in a while. It gives him the opportunity to show off his talents for humorous facial expressions, and physical comedy. Also, Queen Latifa has the spotlight on her in her best starring role to date. Though the plot might not seem completely original from what is described above, there are many twists and turns that keep the film pumping full of laughs all the way through, keeping it always fresh and new.
Overall, there isn't much more to include because I don't want to spoil any of the surprises the film springs on you. All I can say is I didn't stop laughing from the first five minutes until the closing credits. The Queen is currently working on the film Cheaper By the Dozen, co-starring Steve Martin. We could possibly be looking at a new comedy dream team. Whether we are or not, what they do in Bringing Down the House works. And it brings the audience to their knees with laughter!

Check this out to see the laugh-out-loud Steve Martin we all love.

Peter Sanderson (Martin) is a straitlaced tax attorney and divorced father of two. In search of romance, he arranges a rendezvous with an alleged Ivy League female attorney he met in a legal chat room online. His dream-date turns out to be none other than Charlene Morton played by Queen Latifah (who also shined in Chicago). Charlene has a criminal record and claims she's being framed for armed robbery. She disrupts Peter's life until he agrees to help her clear her name. While he helps Charlene, she ends up helping Peter get to know his children better and just loosen up already!

The always hysterical Eugene Levy plays Peter's friend/colleague Howie Rosenthal. Jean Smart, who I always like, plays Peter's ex-wife Kate. But the two unexpected scene-stealers were veteran actresses Joan Plowright and Betty White. Plowright plays Mrs. Arnes, a stuffy heiress that Peter is trying to land as a client. The always-proper lady loosens up herself at the end. Betty White plays Peter's nosey neighbor who's also the sister of one of his colleagues at the firm. Naturally, he wants to keep his nose clean around her. White throws out a few shockingly funny lines that sends the entire audience into hysterics.

Overall, this is just a fun film. The chemistry between the new team of Martin and Latifah was great. You WILL laugh out loud, trust me.

There are two really good reasons to see this film--Eugene Levy and Queen Latifah. Latifah has shown herself to be a major screen presence since her role in Living Out Loud back in 1998 when she showed not only that she could really, really sing (like a dream) but that the camera loves her. She is truly larger than life and twice as grand and when she's the focus of any scene, that scene is hers regardless of whoever else is in it ... except for the wonderfully nutty interplay between her and Eugene Levy who nails this one beautifully. It may be the unlikeliest pairing ever, but it works. Steve Martin is just, well, Steve Martin and doesn't bring a whole lot to the film. Poor Jean Smart (one of the better actresses around) is just wasted in this movie. While everything is predictable, it's fun none the less to see how things evolve. Kimberly J. Brown as Smart's younger sister turns in a nice performance and one of the funniest scenes in the film is a knock-down drag-out between Brown and Latifah that, alone, is worth the price of admission. Joan Plowright is, as ever, a treat. When Betty White appeared onscreen, the friend I was with exclaimed, "Isn't she dead?" Well, evidently not. There's a lot of blatantly racist action but it's so silly that it's not possible to take offence, particularly with Latifah up there doing her thing. For a couple of hours' worth of pleasant distraction, see this movie.

Before I get into the review for this film, let me just start of by saying this. Steve Martin is back. We see a brilliant comedian returning to glorious form in this film and we are thankful to have him back. Hopefully, it won't be such a long time before we see the wild and crazy guy we all fell for in the first place again. That said, let's move on. This film is cute and hilarious from beginning to end. Steve Martin plays tax attorney Pete Sanderson, a stiff kinda guy who seems to go by the book and have everything in order. He is separated from his wife Kate(Jean Smart, who keeps looking lovelier and far removed from her "Desigining Women" days), and has two children, a boy and a girl(Angus Jones, and Kiimberly J. Brown from "Rose Red"). We see Pete talking to 'Lawyer-Girl' in a chat room on his lap top. Well, they finally come face to face and it isn't what Pete thought. 'Lawyer-Girl' turns out to be an ex-con named Charlene(Played with such ferociousness by Queen Latifah). She comes in and invades Peter's home, life, and career. She wants him to help her with her case and to prove that she is innocent for the armed robbery crime she went to jail for four years for. Peter, at first, wants nothing to do with her, but then changes his mind when it appears that Charlene is a woman who won't be denied. The infectious Charlene steps into the lives of Peter's children and friends. Most notably, his friend and co-worker, Howie(Eugene Levy), who refers to her as a 'coco goddess'. The only thing that didn't work for me, and made me feel a bit uncomfortable, was the role of Peter's racist neighbor, Mrs. Kline, played by Betty White. I hate to see such a beloved person as Ms. White in such a negative role. It didn't get much laughs from me, but it did from the rest of the audience. The rest of the story isn't anything we haven't seen before. Peter becoming looser and to re-connect with ex-wife Kate. All during this, he is trying to work with a very wealty client, who is played by Joan Plowright. Most of the humor here works. If it's not funny, something that is comes up very quickly. It's a joy all the way thru. Latifah has such a great presence. She is really becoming a performer to be reckoned with. She is very charismatic, with charm and warmth to her as well. I was really surprised with her. Martin is genius. After having been thru films like "Leap Of Faith", "Sgt. Bilko", "The Out Of Towners", and others, it's nice, as I said earlier, to have the brilliant funny man back. It was well worth the wait. Now, if only the curse of 'bad movies' would disappear for his fellow amigos, Chevy Chase and Martin Short!!. Steve's scenes doing the dancing in the underground club is priceless. His slang he says while there is a comic gem to behold. He's really back on his game here. Let's get to a subject that has been dogging this entertaining film. Is it racist?. No. Are certain characters in the film racist?. Yes. A lot of critics and other reviewers seem to focus on that one subject and don't see anything else. Do they have a point with going on and on about how awful it is?. No, they don't. They say it's awful and makes white people look like idiots. Does it make white people look like idiots?. No, it makes THESE white people look like idiots. There's a difference. But people would much rather make a fuss and turn something into something bigger because it seems like they are out looking for it. Charlene works with Peter in the film on how to loosen it up a bit and relax. Maybe some of these critics should listen to Charlene and unbind their underroos a bit. There are many other things to enjoy here. First of all, the houses and neighborhoods. If there's one thing that made me not like this movie, was how it made me jealous that I wasn't living there. Levy's continuing banter with Latifah is hilarious. They could of used him a lot more than they did. I also never thought I would see the day where Joan Plowright is in a hip hop club and smoking dope. There is one heck of a vicious cat fith between Charlene and Peter's sister in law at the posh club they go too. You really didn't see something quite like that fight coming. Maybe a fight, but nothing like that!!. There is also an appearance by "Smallville" co-star Michael Rosenbaum, who is wearing one mighty fake looking wig. "Bringing Down The House" is a fun and uproarious film. Definitley the funniest film so far this year.

Check this out to see the laugh-out-loud Steve Martin we all love.

Peter Sanderson (Martin) is a straitlaced tax attorney and divorced father of two. In search of romance, he arranges a rendezvous with an alleged Ivy League female attorney he met in a legal chat room online. His dream-date turns out to be none other than Charlene Morton played by Queen Latifah (who also shined in Chicago). Charlene has a criminal record and claims she's being framed for armed robbery. She disrupts Peter's life until he agrees to help her clear her name. While he helps Charlene, she ends up helping Peter get to know his children better and just loosen up already!

The always hysterical Eugene Levy plays Peter's friend/colleague Howie Rosenthal. Jean Smart, who I always like, plays Peter's ex-wife Kate. But the two unexpected scene-stealers were veteran actresses Joan Plowright and Betty White. Plowright plays Mrs. Arnes, a stuffy heiress that Peter is trying to land as a client. The always-proper lady loosens up herself at the end. Betty White plays Peter's nosey neighbor who's also the sister of one of his colleagues at the firm. Naturally, he wants to keep his nose clean around her. White throws out a few shockingly funny lines that sends the entire audience into hysterics.

Overall, this is just a fun film. The chemistry between the new team of Martin and Latifah was great. You WILL laugh out loud, trust me.

I'm here with my review of "Bringing Down The House" starring Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, and Eugene Levy. Rated PG-13 for mild violence and drug use.
This movie is a must see for anyone over the age of 45 and has no idea how recycled, generic, and unfunny the content of this movie acually is. It is also a must see for anyone in their 20s or below who wants to spend an hour and a half yelling at the TV and feeling sorry for Steve Martin, et al. I'm sure he was well compensated for making this colossal waste of time, but
one is still left feeling terribly sorry for the once well-respected comedian. After reading Larry King's quote on the front of the DVD "The funniest movie ever..." I must say I was intrigued. Then I remembered that Larry King is in his 70s and falls right into the demographic for which this movie was made.
Eugene Levy, playing essentially the same character he plays in every other movie, can't even salvage this bomb, or for that matter, be funny at all. Lines such as "I got all my points in the game, you got me all twisted up on the inside" immediately fall flat on their face. And as for the knee slapper "You got me straight trippin' boo," well, my response is "Don't go there Eugene!"
The climax of the movie is a scene where Steve Martin attempts to go after Charlene or 'Lene, as she's known (Latifah), who is in an "urban" nightclub. Having been informed that the only white people who go to these clubs are "crackheads" or "cops" Martin is forced to buy urban-wear from two thugs on the corner. In what I'm certain the writers thought was the comedic
highpoint of the movie, the viewer is forced to watch Steve Martin, complete with sweatpants (one leg up), basketball jersey, gold chain, and wool cap, make a complete ass of himself. Whoever wrote this movie should be permanently banned from anything even remotely resembling entertainment. Martin enters the club and shows off his new "street talk" which again fails to be even slightly amusing. To make matters worse, Martin then proceeds to the dance floor, and I'm sure you can imagine the ensuing hilarity.
This is a movie that was made for people with the sense of humor of a piss-soaked paper towel. I must recommend it, however, to everyone I know, so they can see just how awful a movie can be.

Steve Martin and Queen Latifah put on a good performance in the movie Bringing Down The House. Martin's shifts from being an uptight lawyer to posing as a hip rapper. His antics in the club are truly amusing. Queen Latifah plays her part with conviction as a troubled woman trying to clear her name in an armed robbery. She looks towards Martin as the missing piece to resolving her dilemna. Eugene Levy is quite entertaining as Martin's side kick. He varies his role ever so slightly from the series of American Pie movies. But the fit is a good one.

The storyline however is a bit ridiculous. How Queen Latifah's character takes over Martin's palce with a gangster party questions the authenticy of Martin's security system which was employed only a couple of scenes earlier. Also the many shifts with Latifah being a maid and a love interest grows a little cumbersome in spots.

If you do not take this movie too seriously you might like it. However Martin has been in better efforts like both Father of the Bride movies, Dirty Rotton Scoundrels, and The Jerk. Latifah also fares better in the critically acclaimed Chicago. A middle of the road movie this definitely is.