Bringing Down the House DVD Review

"BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE" reviews

DVD

BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-26 11:18:14

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

The internet has a lot to answer for. Whereas lonely hearts previously only had the personals as a last ditch attempt to find love, the 'Net has opened up all sorts of new possibilities thanks to chat rooms and the like but their anonymous nature can lead to deception - as Steve Martin is about to find out.

Recently divorced tax attorney Peter Sanderson is obviously still in love with his ex (Jean Smart) but his flirting with a cyber pal known as Lawyer_Girl might just be his way to move on. Imagine his surprise though when Lawyer_Girl, instead of a slim blonde barrister, turns out to be Charlene (Queen Latifah), a large, black female convict who wants Peter's help to clear her name (he doesn't know she's on the run). Throw in the biggest contract of his professional life, a pair of jaded children and a nosey and bigoted neighbour and this is going to be an eventful week for the straight laced suburbanite.

Playing out in parts like Housesitter meets Bulworth, this film from Adam Shankman certainly raises some laughs. Martin is back on familiar ground while Chicago star Latifah proves as adept at comedy as she is at musicals. The addition of American Pie's Eugene Levy as Peter's jive-talkin' colleague and Joan Plowright as an ultraconservative heiress also add some depth to the cast.

Some comedy moments are rather predictable (the laxative at the dinner party etc.) and the odd joke is a bit near the racial knuckle but the real highlights come in the one-liners especially when Charlene is teaching Peter's son to read via a 'stimulating' magazine she found in his Dad's bedroom. "What's a rack?" young Georgey asks. "A country" is his father's quick-witted reply.

The movie does become a bit predictable and cheesy by the final reel but you'll have laughed enough by then to not really care.

Copyright © MRIB 2005.