Bringing Down the House

This film, although badly reviewed by many people, proves to be a fun time at the movies. Adam Shankman and Jason Filardi have teamed up to give the viewers lots of laughs. It's hard not to be amused by what's being presented even though it might not be the greatest, or the funniest picture.

Queen Latifah has more charisma in her ample body than any other actress working in American films these days. She never gives a bad performance. This is quite a stretch from her role in Chicago; in fact, she steals the film with her charm. She can hold up her own against her co-star.

Steve Martin seems to blend himself into this joke of a lawyer, who is so uptight and anal that he never has enough time for his children. He has some hysterical scenes at the hip hop club playing an Eminem-type character, outdancing everyone. Mr. Martin's experience in the chat room brings him a lot more than he bargained for: the irrisistible Charlene, who turns his life upside down.

Eugene Levy has some bright moments as Steve Martin's friend in the firm. Joan Plowright repeats herself into the role of the ogre with a heart of gold, once she loosens up with the right kind of smoke. The rest of the cast is good, working with the material they're given to perform.

If you are trying to get away from the horrible news being bombarded at us these days, this is the film for you.

Bringing Down the House is a very funny movie and your bound to have a good time. Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a lawyer who is having trouble getting his life back on track after his wife, Kate ( Jean Smart), divorces him; he's also adjusting to his new status as a single father. Peter tries an internet dating site and virtually meets "lawyer-girl," an attractive and single fellow attorney. Peter makes a date with her, but the woman who arrives at his door turns out to be Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), who not only isn't a lawyer, she turns out to be an escaped convict. Charlene explains to Peter that she's strung him along because she's innocent of the crime for which she was convicted, and she needs a top-notch attorney to help prove her case. After some persuasion, Peter agrees to help Charlene out. Though the plot sounds stupid, the execution turned out to be really funny. The story is a little weak though and they could have worked a little more on that. The movie isn't very realistic so you shouldn't go in expecting one. The cast is great and they make this somewhat old material funny. The funniest person is Eugene Levy and he is finally getting the recognition he deserves. Steve Martin returns for his first wide release film in four years. He doesn't disappoint and gives a very funny performance. Queen Latifah is also funny, but she also starts getting annoying by the end of the movie. Jean Smart plays the ex wife of Peter and she's pretty good. The rest of the supporting cast includes Kimberly J. Brown, Joan Plowright, Betty White and Missi Pyle. Adam Shankman directs and this is a large improvement over A Walk to Remember. The racist jokes in the film are a little outdated and sometimes this film does go over the top. I still laughed though as some of the dialog in this film is very funny. While this isn't he funniest film of 2003, its still worth watching. Its 105 minutes long and it starts getting a little boring since they add some unnecessary things. Another good thing about this film is that they didn't use all the jokes in the preview. In the end, this film is worth watching even if its not very memorable. Rating 7.4/10, a funny comedy that's worth checking out.

Steve Martin plays tax attorney Peter Sanderson who meets Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah) on an "law and legal issues" internet chat room, believing her to be a "slim blonde" fellow lawyer, the two get on well and eventually arrange a date.

All is not what Peter expects, as Charlene is not only a large African American lady with a larger than life attitude - shes not a lawyer, but an ex con! - and brings with her a heck of a lot of trouble for him, bribing him into helping her clear her name for a crime she says she didn't commit.

The many over the top ridiculous scenarios that follow are truly very funny and do more than enough to paper over the cracks in a pretty thin storyline.

Martin, Latifah - and especially Eugene Levy, as Martins fellow lawyer friend - clearly really enjoy themselves here and it really shows in their excellent performances.

all in all good fun.

This is pretty much another one of those typical culture clash comedies where a streetsmart character meets the classy rich character, there's conflict and then the conflict is resolved and friendship blossoms, then there's another conflict but that too is resolved by the end. The story has been told x number of times. But what makes 'Bringing Down The House' likable is Queen Latifah, Steve Martin and Joan Plowright. These three provide some laugh-out-loud moments some including Martin and Latifah's dance number, Martin dressing and talking 'black', Queen Latifah and Missy Pyle's catfight and doing a break-dance, Plowright's pompous and stuck up character getting stoned, Peter's neighbour catching him and Charlene in a compromising position. The chemistry between Latifah and Martin is convincing and both have a good comic timing. Thus, even though the story has nothing new to offer, the funny moments make 'Bringing Down The House' fun to watch.

Steve Martin and Queen Latifah (and Eugene Levy) are an odd combo, but certainly a funny one! Coming out in 2003, "Bringing Down the House" was a movie about two different worlds coming together; probably not the first, and the result is some hilarity! Steve Martin plays a divorced lawyer trying to juggle his work-life and spending time with his two kids, and Queen Latifah is an escaped prisoner (as you probably already know). The plot of Martin's lawyer trying to find love and unexpectedly running into Latifah's straight-up "sister" personality results in a pretty hilarious film! Add in Eugene Levy's "down white guy" persona, and you have the makings of some very funny moments! Some may argue that this film relies too much on typical plot lines, "been-there-done-that" routines, and stereotypes, but that's not the case.

This movie is a very funny and enjoyable romp. Meaningless fun. A laugh out loud. Don't get me wrong, Steve Martin does shine especially in the scene where his daughter is relaying the events of a party that a dad just doesn't want to hear. Following Latifa's character's advice to stay cool to gain her trust, he bites his tongue and instead of going mad, says, "That was some party"! Overall, 'Bringing Down The House' is funny and very entertaining film that you will not regret watching, although it could have been a little better with a better script, the acting was brilliant all round, and it does work pretty well, especially with Steve Martin as the main character who is very funny as usual.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.