Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie, Excellent Cast
Review: I loved this movie. Queen Latifa and Steve Martin are paired well. The funniest part of this movie was when Steve Martin (Peter) was carried out to the pool. The other funny part was when Queen Latifa's character (Charlene) took care of that "little problem" in the woman's bathroom at the restaurant. That had me laughing so hard, I was sore. One of best scenes was what Charlene did to help Peter's little boy. She may have played a woman from the rough side of the tracks, but she did have a big heart. Only Steve Martin could utter racial slurs and make them sound funny without being offensive. His other movie, "The Jerk", had a lot of racial slurs and that wasn't offensive to me either. Queen Latifa can act like a stereotype and be able to pull it off like Martin and make it funny. I hope this movie gets an award because it comes highly recommended from me.
Rating: 
Summary: DON'T INSULT YOUR INTELLIGENCE, IF YOU HAVE ANY
Review: That so many people can give this appalling movie a good review makes me fear for the future of this society. This movie is so bad, that I walked out....of my living room, while my husband continued watching. Our standards differ.
It depicts blacks as pushy, inconsiderate, rap-listening, sunglass wearing thugs. Steve Martin is the quintessential uptight white suburban. It reeks of stupidity, the writing is terrible, the acting is utterly mediocre, and all in all, you'd be better off watching paint dry. Why can't hollywood make a film that doesn't always focus on dingbats and nitwits? I guess it's because the average American IS a dingbat or a nitwit. Thank god I'm Canadian.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, much better than I expected.
Review: I had sincere misgivings about renting this movie. Steve Martin has lost so much allure for me since the days of Comedy Is Not Pretty and Wild and Crazy Guy, his two astonishing comedy records that influenced me for a lifetime. Giving in to old age, respectability, and being self-impressed with his frequent appearances is The New Yorker, Martin lost a lot of the wackiness that made The Jerk, Man With Two Brains, and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid so enjoyable. Frankly, I have trouble forgetting his performance in Father of the Bride. I'm sure he was in more sappy, sloppy, mushy, family-style pap besides that one, but somehow that movie sticks in the craw of my memory, as it were, as the unfortunate compromise that disenchanted the funniest white man in America. Not only did I have misgivings about Martin, but also about the subject of Bringing Down the House, patently apparent from its cover even without the general hype that surrounded the theatrical release. I was going to have to watch a racial comedy where white people acted like black people. Not that this can't be funny, but it has been so overdone for so long that I despaired of seeing anything original enough to make me laugh. Spike Lee could do it with Bamboozled (reviewed in my archives), but he wasn't making a comedy. It was my dear wife, the lovely Mrs. Worsted, who requested a comedy, something mellow to zone out to. My choice at the video store, King of the Hill, looked heavy. Eugene Levy's presence in The House was good incentive to give it a shot, and then Jeff at Family Video and DVD said, "It's pretty funny, actually," and that closed the deal. Jeff was right, and so was I. It is pretty funny, and Levy is in top form. On top of that, Martin is in top form, a delightful surprise. And Queen Latifah rounds out the top-form triumvirate. Not that you're in the presence of greatness with this movie, but it certainly does provide a decent night's entertainment. Bringing Down the House is the tale of Larry the Lawyer (Martin), a workaholic, up-tight tax attorney who falls into an Internet friendship with "Lawyer_girl." Separated from his wife, Larry decides to try meeting the girl in person, and is shocked to find that Charlene is a large, sassy, sexy black woman who recently got out of prison after being convicted of armed robbery. Charlene is obviously not what Larry had in mind: he is as white as they come, working for an upper-crust, racist law firm and living in an upper-crust, racist neighborhood, across the street from Betty White, who I always liked (and it pained me to see her play a rich bigot). Charlene's pursuit and deception of Larry isn't just for giggles. She claims to be innocent of the crime and in desperate need of legal assistance to clear her name. Larry refuses to help her, but Charlene has ways of changing his mind, mainly by playing her race against Larry's lifestyle. Pretending to be the mother of his lovechild, loudly on the front lawn, for example, regains her entry into his house. But race and class tensions don't always work in Charlene's favor. Larry is trying to court a billion-dollar client, a matronly woman whose attitudes seem to come through time and distance from the antebellum plantations of Georgia. Once Larry has been coerced into helping Charlene, he makes her pose as a nanny, a maid, and a church choir leader to keep his prejudiced compatriots satisfied that he'd never actually befriend an African American. The lawyer and the convict are thrown into situation after situation where racial tension is the source of comedy (especially when Larry finally leaves his white-bread world for Charlene's natural scene, deep downtown). Larry has two children whose struggles form the subplots. Charlene is the force that brings them out of their difficulties, the daughter with her adolescent shenanigans and the son with his difficulty in school. This helps create true friendship between the superwoman con (mother, lover, fighter, grifter, crusader) and the well-situated attorney. It also helps that Larry's colleague, played by Levy, has a thing for Charlene. To hear Levy speak in what sounded to me like passable Afro-urban parlance was, even familiar as it's become, funny. Furthermore, Levy's unbridled propensity--okay, lust--for Latifah makes him one of the more consistently likeable characters, second only to Latifah herself. Finally, Larry the lawyer becomes convinced of Charlene's innocence and begins to work to clear her name. Antics, shenanigans, intrigues and excitement ensue when Larry confronts the gangstas who set Charlene up. The rich prospective client and her French bulldog are kidnapped by Levy and Latifah. Guns go off; ganga is smoked; cops show up; and everything works out as you'd expect. For such a traditional comedy with such traditional laughs, Bringing Down does a good job of being likeable. The funny stuff is pretty funny and gags are not milked overlong (except for the fight scene between Charlene and Larry's sister in law). The fact that the comedy is all racially derived doesn't bother me much. I don't think the core message is racist considering that all the bigots are served their just deserts. I could imagine that the stereotypes could be problematic to someone more sensitive or consciousness-raised than I. I wonder what Spike Lee or bell hooks would think of this film. Regardless, I found a good helping of mirth and a welcome return of Steve Martin to actually funny comedy.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a lot of big laughs, mostly chuckles....
Review: Steve Martin plays the usual, straight pool cue, this time a lawyer, who is seperated from his wife, and looks to the internet for some new love interest. He finds Queen Latifah, who is more than he bargained for,and then comes the fun situations of upper class meets loose and cool. A few good laughs come with this premise and other things with his job, his boss and client who is a billionare, etc., who finds Latifah repulsive, but in her eyes, not in ours- we love the hip sister !
These two are funny as an opposing pair, and give each other the advice from each others lifestyles and friends/ families. They could be funnier, as most jokes here aren't unfunny....just a good chuckle, and Martin at least still has it. The script is the culprit who delivers moderate laughs, although some scenes are downright side splitting! Just like to see him doing something different for once and then maybe get back to this stuff, which he does best! Ah, heck, not sick of his usual schtick....just like to see him capable of pulling off with another character. Still, he's got it.
Rating:
Summary: Steve Martin is back.
Review: That's not to imply the man ever left. Steve Martin is a funny guy, but this movie reminds me of the Steve Martin we saw in The Jerk and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Eugene Levy is just as funny and in some instances, steals the show..but I say that in a good way. The movie is funny, but not quite as funny as they were hyping it up to be. Still, all in all it is a good movie that is just pure fun.
Rating:
Summary: King and Queen of the house
Review: Funny and clever in this classic comedy about a man who gets a blind date but found out that this girlfriend is trouble. You will laugh until you start the flip. On a comedy night, you should compare it with Head of State.
Rating:
Summary: I guess I was expecting too much??
Review: I was so excited to rent this movie and i cannot believe how BAD it was. With Steve Martin and Queen Latifah I thought this movie was going to be really good. It turns out most of the funny parts were already on the commercials where we've already laughed a bazillion times before. It also seemed too racist. Were the racial jokes by Betty White as their neighbor supposed to be funny? And another thing is how come when Queen Latifah's character had a party when the kids came home with Steve, their neighbor didnt do anything. And then when the neighbor was outside later in the movie, they hid her behind an inflatable raft?!?! I didnt get that at all. It seems like also the kids just seemed to welcome out of the blue that a strange person who was very different then their own culture was randomly coming over to their house. The dinner scene was also offensive. A client of Steve's comes over to dinner and because of that he asks Charlene (Queen Latifah) to cook dinner for him and dress in a southern black made's costume. Nothing was funny about that and I found it offensive. I thought it wouldve been funnier if they wouldve had Charlene act "white' again and pretend to be another one of his clients. The comedy just didnt work also in this movie. Steve and Latifah were great but Eugene Levy just seemeed "there" and was hardly any more funnier then the stuff you saw on the previews. Charlene's reactions to his "Ebonics" could have been really funny... but they were not. The only funny part was at the end where they take the old lady client of Steve to the club where she smokes and drinks which was funny as heck. But otherwise this movie did not deserve to be number one. If you want a FUNNY Steve Martin comedy check out "All of Me" (with Lily Tomlin), "Father of the Bride" and the remake of "Out of Towners" (with Goldie Hawn). This is by far his WORST film and he should be ASHAMED of himself (IE: Will Smith and 'Old School.") If this was supposed to be a comedy you couldve fooled me. Do not waste your money. If you buy this you are only shooting yourself in the foot.
Rating:
Summary: steppin fetchit is rolling over in his grave
Review: what a piece of sterotyped junk , it was not funny nor was i impressed with the various archtypes in this movie . mel brooks did a better job with satire in his films (but at least made you laugh) this is a racist movie plain and simple. after watching this movie i can see this was for latifah's crossover audience humor white people and black people (who should know better) want to see black people acting in every negative way and white people laughing at our expense.i thought this stuff ended in the 60's, if i can give it zero stars i would .
Rating:
Summary: Save yourself the time it takes to watch this turkey.
Review: I like Steve Martin. I like Queen Latifah. I love Eugene Levy and Joan Plowright, who somehow managed to rise above the pathetic plot and ludicrous dialogue of this stinker.
To say that I hated this movie would be an understatement. If you enjoy racism, chauvinism, vulgarity, bad taste, toilet humor, and lots of whacky violence, you'll love this movie. "Bringing Down the House," does have one redeeming value. The next time I'm halfway through a lousy movie I'll remember that I wasted 105 minutes on this one, and just rewind it.
Rating:
Summary: This movie made me laugh out loud.
Review: "Bringing Down the House" is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. Queen Latifah and Steve Martin are the perfect comedy team and Eugene Levy adds just the right flair to make this movie memorable. Peter is an uptight attorney conversing on the internet with what he believes is a petite blonde attorney. After inviting her to the house, he is shocked and dismayed to find an ex-con Charlene bursting through the door demanding that he look over her case. Kicking her out, she has many tricks up her sleeve and eventually finds her way into his life in ways neither of them expect. I think what alot of people find so distasteful about this film is the racism coming from some white people. As I had lived in an upscale white neighborhood at one time, I can honestly say there are people just like this. More than you would ever dare imagine. What makes this movie so good is the way this is shown in a thought-provoking yet funny way. Yes, there are offensive things in this film but it makes fun of everybody. I love the romance between Latifah and Levy. The fistfight at the country club with the awful sister of Martin's ex-wife. The movie has a great ending and everyone is changed for the better. If you are offended easily, stay away from this movie. If you have no sense of humour, stay away. If you can laugh at yourself, then this is a great one. Highly recommended for the open minded.
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