Genre: Comedy, Love, Law, Prison, Suspense, Martial Arts, Drugs, Mistaken Identity, Police
Tagline: Everything he needed to know about life, she learned in prison.
Plot: Peter Sanderson (STEVE MARTIN) is a divorced, straight-laced, uptight, workaholic attorney who still loves his ex-wife (JEAN SMART) and can’t figure out what he did wrong to make her leave him. However, Peter’s doing his best to move on, and he’s become smitten with a brainy, bombshell barrister he’s been chatting with online. But when she comes to his house for their first face to face, he quickly discovers she isn’t refined, isn’t Ivy League, and isn’t even a lawyer.Instead, it’s Charlene (QUEEN LATIFAH), a prison escapee who’s proclaiming her innocence and wants Peter to help clear her name. But Peter wants nothing to do with her, prompting the loud and shocking Charlene to turn Peter’s perfectly ordered life upside down, jeopardizing his efforts to get back with his wife and woo a billion-dollar client (JOAN PLOWRIGHT). As hysterical complications ensue, our unlikely pair has the chance to put each other’s lives on higher ground… if they don’t end up bringing down the
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Behind the Scenes:
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 Why are white guys who can't dance still funny? In this shameful Steve Martin bomb, they're not.--Charles Taylor (Salon)
Bringing Down the House may not be original, but it’s entertaining and fun. Lacking the wit and energy of Bowfinger, the comedy nevertheless serves up what Steve Martin fans expect. B+--Lee Tistaert (Lee's Movie Info)
I laughed a few times, but I never found myself clutching my stomach. The tears never came. "Bringing Down the House" is just a mediocre comedy at best, not nearly as good as "Old School." 4/10--Scott Spicciati (Movie-Vault.com)
Though Bringing Down the House is a tremendously uneven comedy - some scenes are quite funny, while others are deathly dull - the ample charisma of all the leads (and even a few supporting performers) ensures that the film always remains watchable.  --David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)
Yet another film created for the lowest common denominator in all of us, this flick is ready to please anyone who doesn't ask for too much from their comedies including plot, originality, hilarity or any sense of political/stereotypical correctness. 4/10--'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
Occasionally misjudged cross-cultural mismatch comedy that isn’t as funny as it thinks it is – just about worth watching for Latifah’s star quality and Eugene Levy’s impressive scene-stealing skills.  --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
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| Directed by |
Adam Shankman
The Wedding Planner, The Pacifier, A Walk to Remember |
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| Cast |
Steve Martin
Bowfinger, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, The Prince of Egypt |
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 | Eugene Levy
American Pie, American Pie 2, American Wedding |
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 | Jean Smart
Garden State, Sweet Home Alabama, The Kid |
 | Missi Pyle
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story |
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[more] |
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| Music By |
Lalo Schifrin
Mission: Impossible II, Mission: Impossible, Rush Hour |
 | Shane West
Ocean's Eleven, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Dracula 2000 |
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| As the trailers indicate, there's no shortage of laughs, thanks to some sharp one-liners, two stars at the top of their game, and a solid supporting cast of veteran laugh-getters. --Lou Lumenick (New York Post)
Neither highly original nor exceptionally funny, but well enough performed to make it worth catching. 7/10--Gary Panton (Movie Gazette)
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Movie Database
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