Themes: Unlikely Friendships, Clearing One's Name, Looking For Love
Main Cast: Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Jean Smart
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A man looking for a woman just like himself ends up with someone quite different in this farcical comedy. 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. Looking for companionship, 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 is also a brash and brassy African-American, while Peter is perhaps the most tightly wound white guy in L.A. 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. Peter isn't the least bit interested at first, but Charlene isn't the sort of woman to take "no" for an answer, and in time she wears him down and agrees to help. As Charlene moves into Peter's home, she helps him to loosen up and unleash his inner groove, which quite surprises Kate, and her down-to-earth advice comes in handy for Peter's son and daughter. But Charlene may end up going too far when Peter is asked to entertain Mrs. Arness (Joan Plowright), a wealthy woman looking for a new law firm. Bringing Down the House also features Eugene Levy as Howie, one of Peter's friends who takes a keen interest in Charlene, and Betty White as one of Peter's neighbors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Pulling off a comedy about race relations is difficult. In order for it to work, everyone's assumptions and stereotypes must be skewered. Bringing Down the House only supplies half the equation. Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) makes false assumptions about what Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah) thinks, knows, and is. The problem is that Charlene does not make these same stereotypical assumptions about Peter. Since only Peter is required to change, the film loses half of its potential comedy right away. When the film attempts to play with stereotypes the laughter almost always comes at the expense of Martin's character. When Charlene adopts a "proper" speaking voice the audience laughs at Peter's inability to understand why she doesn't always speak that way. When Peter dresses up like a young Black man and goes to a club, the audience is encouraged to laugh at how stupid he looks precisely because he seems so uncomfortable. Only in Eugene Levy, as the very white friend of Peter who is madly in love Charlene, does the film find the perfect balance. He speaks in urban slang with a very "white" voice, but because he does so with a natural ease the audience does not laugh at him. The laughter when he is onscreen comes from the viewer's facing their own prejudices because they are unable to integrate the man's actions with his appearance. Levy and Latifah make much of the material more palatable than it might have been otherwise, but Bringing Down the House falls well short of being as funny or as smart as it should have been. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Joan Plowright - Mrs. Arness; Missi Pyle - Ashley; Kimberly J. Brown - Sarah Sanderson; Steve Harris - Widow; Angus T. Jones - Georgey Sanderson; Michael Rosenbaum - Todd Gendler; Betty White - Mrs. Kline; Michael Ensign - Daniel Barnes; Tracey Cherelle Jones - Sofia; Matt Lutz - Aaron Blair; Victor Webster - Glen; Sundy Carter - Flygirl; Alonzo Bodden - Bear; Aengus James - Mike
Credit
Jim Nedza - Art Director, Cookie Carosella - Associate Producer, Victoria Thomas - Casting, Anne Fletcher - Choreography, Todd Lieberman - Co-producer, Pamela Withers Chilton - Costume Designer, Daniel Silverberg - First Assistant Director, Adam Shankman - Director, John Medlen - Second Unit Director, Jerry Greenberg - Editor, Queen Latifah - Executive Producer, Jane Bartelme - Executive Producer, Lalo Schifrin - Composer (Music Score), Michael McQuarn - Musical Direction/Supervision, Linda de Scenna - Production Designer, Julio Macat - Cinematographer, Ashok Amritraj - Producer, David Hoberman - Producer, Nancy Deren - Set Designer, Ric Mcelvin - Set Designer, Richard Romig - Set Designer, David MacMillan - Sound/Sound Designer, Jason Filardi - Screenwriter, Johnny E. Jensen - Additional Cinematography, David A. Whittaker - Supervising Sound Editor
Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a workaholic tax attorney corresponding with an online friend known only as "lawyer-girl". On their first blind date, Peter learns that "lawyer-girl" is Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), an overweight dietician, wrongfully convicted bank robber claiming her innocence who wants Peter's help in getting the charges dropped. Peter also must deal with Virginia Arness (Joan Plowright), an eccentric billionaire, to bring her business to his firm, as well as competitive colleagues and bosses. His neighbor, Mrs. Kline (Betty White), who happens to be related to one of the senior partners, is a nosy bigot. Peter attempts to juggle these issues as well as reconcile with his estranged wife (Jean Smart) and children (Kimberly J. Brown and Angus T. Jones).
On a budget of $35 million the film became a surprise hit. It earned $132.6 million in the United States and an international gross of $32 million, bringing its worldwide gross to $164.6 million.[1] As of March 2009, it is ranked #231 of the All Time Top Grossing USA Motion Pictures.[2]
