World Famous Comics: Bringing Down The House (Widescreen Edition)
Bringing Down The House (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Jean Smart Directed By: Adam Shankman Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Walt Disney Video Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 05, 2003 Running Time: 105 minutes Theatrical Release Date: March 07, 2003
Product Description: A man meets a woman online and is surprised to find out that she is not what he expected. Genre: Feature Film-Comedy Rating: PG13 Release Date: 6-SEP-2005 Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com: The pleasingly contrasting comic styles of Queen Latifah and Steve Martin bring some energy to Bringing Down the House, a hopelessly formulaic comedy. Martin plays Peter, an uptight lawyer too obsessed with work to spend quality time with his kids. Into his life comes Queen Latifah as Charlene, an escaped convict who threatens to wreck his relationship with a wealthy but arch-conservative client (Joan Plowright, in high dudgeon) if Peter won't take up her case. Of course, Latifah's exuberant ways enchant his kids and bring out a looser, livelier side of Peter, all in a series of scenes so standard they hardly register. Thank goodness for Eugene Levy; as one of Peter's law partners with a taste for Charlene's bodacious brand of sexy, Levy's ingenious transformation from nebbish to loverman is the movie's secret weapon, stealthily planting comic explosions amidst the modest rice-krispie-crackle of the stale plot. --Bret Fetzer
hillarious Steve Martin & Queen Latifah, A Perfect Match. you wouldn't think that these 2 would make a team but they do. this movie is really good and really funny. it's a must see.
Blaxplotation at its finest. The use of corny stereotypes and slang made as an african american man want to vommit.
Predictable You see a lot of it coming, but the actors carry it off pretty well.
Very funny movie Bringing Down the House was one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time when it was released back in 2003. Steve Martin and Dana Owens aka the Queen have great chemistry in the movie. Eugene Levy steals every scene he's in although I wish he would have had a bigger part. Some people have been complain that the film is racist but as a Black Amercian I didn't find it racist it all. The film pokes fun at old school views on racism. If you want a good fun film check this one out
MARTIN FUNNY AGAIN; LATIFAH FULFILLS PROMISE OF COMEDY QUEEN Steve Martin has made tons of movies, some of them good and some of them down right unbearable. But he's always been a favorite of mine. After a few movies that seem to have gone nowhere (does anyone remember NOVOCAINE?) he returns to form in the movie BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE.
Martin stars as uptight and pure white tax attorney Peter Sanderson. Divorced, yet still in love with his wife, a father, yet having no time for his children, Sanderson finds a few moments to make a friend online. Via chatroom, he makes the acquaintance of Charlene Morton, a woman he thinks to be another lawyer, a petite blonde in the picture she's sent his way. And Charlene is about to show up at Sanderson's house for a first face to face meeting.
Imagine his surprise when he opens the door to find Charlene (Queen Latifah) is not at all what he expected. The petite blonde has been replaced by a sassy and hip black woman who is all that and more. On closer inspection, she points out his misconception, blowing up the picture so he can see her being arrested in the background.
Wanting nothing to do with her, he does his best to get her out of his house. But Charlene has come with one goal in mind and that is to get his help in reopening her case. She claims she was framed for a robbery she didn't commit. And she's not leaving without his help.
A series of events, including his attempts to woo a new wealthy conservative client (Joan Plowright) result in his doing his best to help Charlene. And as he does so, she involves herself with his family. His two children are staying with him for the week and during that time, Charlene helps them with their problems and Sanderson in getting better acquainted with his own children.
The back and forth of Charlene's case with Sanderson's attempts to nail down his new client make for some fantastic laughs. References back and forth between hip hop lifestyles and posh white elitism show the differences of the two worlds and at the same time the fact that the two worlds are more alike than most people realize. This equation lends itself to laughter on the highest end.
Martin turns in one of his best performances ever, never quite going over the top in his portrayal of the square, seeming more real but still bland. He's an actor that has the ability to come off as normal in some films but far too out of bounds in others. Here, he plays it just right. And when he doffs the white bread world for an attempt to get down with his bad self, he shines the light of laughter even brighter.
Latifah has always shone she can be funny. But in this movie she outdoes herself. She is bright and bold and beautiful in her own way, and that way sparks all sorts of laughter and sympathy for a character in trouble and in need of a friend. While all of this has been shown before, her run at physical comedy alongside Martin shows that she can hang in there with the best of them.
The comedy here is not forced and some of it is expected but you know what? Who cares? As long as you get a good laugh out if it isn't that the whole point? And this movie is filled with laughter.
The rest of the cast, including Eugene Levy and Jean Smart turn in equally great performances. But it is Martin and Latifah who shine here. Don't let this one collect dust on the shelf, rent it tonight.
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