Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Kevin Kline plays the lead character in this outstanding movie about life, love and families. Kevin's character gets fired and later that day finds out he has terminal cancer. In the mean time his son (Hayden Christensen) is in an emotional void, drifting away from his mother and siblings. Kristen Scott-Thomas plays the exwife who is remarried and unhappy with her new husband's lack of emotional support, even though he is rich, which shows money can not buy love. So Dad and son move in together for the summer. To destroy the old house, and memories, and create a new house and hope for the future. The story line is somewhat predictible but the acting is superb. With great performances by all including Scott Bakula, Hayden Christensen, Kristen Scott-Thomas. The top performances, in my opinion, go to Kevin Kline, Jena Malone and Hayden Christensen. Jena plays the girl next door who had hoped her mother would marry Kevin's character and he would then become her father. Hayden Christensen does a fine job with the transformation his character must go through, from an emotional void to a caring person. From a trouble teen, to a fine young man. I have heard folks compare this movie to a soap opera. There is a lot of subplots and supporting character interactions in the movie and it moves along just fine, keeping you very interested. I can't compare it to a soap opera as I do not watch them. If they are like this movie I can see how people get hooked. A very good movie, outstanding in many respects.
Rating:
Summary: We All Need Love
Review: Science has shown evidence that mice die if they are not being touched as newborns. So why do we touch our children? This is a rhetorical question, since we all know the answer--love. Life as a House is about this theme that we call love, which includes both joy and grief. Love is the joy of sharing time with ones that we love, grieving from the pain that they cause us, and forgiving them who hurt us. Love is depicted with humanity in this film that will stir hearts and undeniably make some weep. The film reminds us not to forget to love our children, since they will learn from us how to love their children.
Rating:
Summary: I never get tired of this movie!!!!
Review: My wife and I saw this on our honeymoon. It was playing on our television on our cruise ship. We enjoyed it so much that we must have watched it three or four times in that seven day span. Kevin Kline is absolutly a great actor. Its about a boy and his father who are not very close. The boy lives with his mom b/c his parents are divorced. When the boys father discovers that he is dying of cancer and is given a short time to live, he asks that his son come and stay with him for the summer and help him build a house. Dispite his rebellous sons complaints, and what seems like disgust of his father........well, I really dont want to give anymore of the movie away, but I can tell you that you wont regret seeing this film. There are so many other interesting events that take place in this movie, and so many suprises. Your garenteed to laugh, cry, and watch this movie over and over. This is one of those rare movies that leaves you feeling good after you see it.
Rating:
Summary: I don't often cry at movies....
Review: I am an odd duck movies don't tend to move me to tears and every once in awhile you will get me at that totally cliched spot like when a small child is killed! But one part of this movie really moved me and it wasn't the cliched one either. When Sam feels such a strong need for drugs he goes into gay prostitution I was moved inexplicably to tears. This scene just related to my philoshipies in life and I just sat there with tears streaming down my face! Hayden does a wonderful job he is truly a class A actor. And some of the writing is funny because it is obvious what they are referring to without necesarrily showing things such as in the shower scenes!
Rating: 
Summary: A solid tearjerker
Review: Good movie about a man trying to repair his damaged and most important relationships in the final months of his life. I dare say that many men who watch this film could easily spot themselves in either of the two male leads. Hayden Christenen proved in "Attack of the Clones" that he couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag, but in "...House" he did somewhat better. The rest of the cast is first-rate.
The basic story borders on being a TV movie-of-the-week, but its gentle execution elevates it well above that.
Watch the two behind-the-scenes docs and be amazed to learn that, with the exception of the house Kline's character is building, all those beautiful Malibu homes were actually just facades.
Rating:
Summary: BEST MOVIE CATEGORY
Review: Question...why wasn't this movie given the recognition it deserved? Kevin Kline is such a superb actor and the rest of this cast deserves way more notice than they got. Hayden Christenson who played Kline's son is one of the finest young actors to come around in a while. Humorous when it needed to be but heart tugging beyond belief. Such a wonderful story of father and son finding each other and families realizing what's really important in life. Please movie makers do this kind of movie again!...
Rating:
Summary: Kevin Kline and Hayden Christensen playing in the best da...
Review: Kevin Kline and Hayden Christensen play in the best ... film I have ever seen in my entire life.it is called life as a house. the movie is about a dad who has been unhappy for over 10 years and his son who sees life as a way to get high. every thing changes for both of them when Kevin(George) looses his job, finds out he has cancer and only has 3 to 4 months to live. he decides he wants his son to think of him as atleast a trying father and he wants to spend his last time on the earth with his son, getting to know and love him. the son(hayden) falls for it and eventually gets rid of all of his piercings, black makeup, and drugs and learns how to want something in life and how to love. this is a touching movie that everyone in the world should see because it doesnt matter who you are, what you have been doing, or how you see things. everyone has a purpose in life and everyone is loved by some one no matter what.
I dont know if this has helped you but i hope it has and i hope you go rent or buy the movie tonight and see how wonderful life can be if you only open your eyes.
Rating:
Summary: A tear-jerker
Review: This was my first movie after the loss of someone really close to me, and this movie portrays all the raw emotions of loosing a loved one. Hayden Christianson is perfect, Kevin Kline (never better)...the enitre cast is outstanding! A truely touching movie.
Rating: 
Summary: A Tearjerker with Solid Cast and Good Acting
Review: "Life as a House" is a film that divides opinions among people. Critics would find faults with the entire film, rightly pointing out predictable story of the film. But non-critic audience, not least those fans with taste for tearjerkers, would definitely love it, simply because of what it is -- its story. But that is no surprise, considering Irwin Winkler's past record as director -- not-so-suspenceful "The Net" comes to my mind first -- but most of all, as you know, as producer he once made a very popular film called "Rocky," and though Sly didn't win the bout, you knew you would cry in the end while watchinghis fight with Apollo. In a nutshell, this is a story about family. Kevin Kline is living alone in a dirty, old house until one day he knows that his life is not long, so visits his long-estranged son Hayden Christensen and ex-wife Kristin Scott Thomas, proposing to re-build his house during the summer. Hayden naturally dislikes his dad who long neglected him, or everything around him, but reluctantly comes to live with him (partly because in the neighborhood he finds a beautiful girl Jena Malone), helping rebuild the house, or his own life. The story gradually leads you to the obvious conclusion, re-union of family (or psuedo-family) members surrounding Kevin Kline. The film goes on a path which has been already known by other past masterpieces like "Terms of Endearment." Those who have seen this Jack Nicolson - Shirley McLaine film can claim that similarity between this and "Life as a House" (jumping into the ocean, unexpected love, and death by disease, etc.) and also the weakness of the latter, which is, the lack of emotional power coming from smooth storytelling. Though "Life as a House" has its moment, especially between Kline and Scott Thomas, we can have an impression that some other episodes look either forced and labored, or too simple and obvious. Mary Steenburgen's character has a love affair with a boy in a too unbelievable way, unnecessarily trying to make a certain scene very comical, and Kline's bickering neighbor attempts to sue him in an most awkward moment, when his family's emotional bond should be given more close-up descriptions. Or Christensen, though himself good, is reduced to a hackneyed image of troubled teen who locks up himself in the room, listening Marylin Manson on stereo with loud volume. Unoriginal, isn't it? Director Winkler does have good ingredints, but he doens't seem to know how to cook and arrange them. The whole film as a consequence relies on actors' superb performance, and the result is not bad. Actually, Kevin Kilne is so crebible as an ailing architect that you will forget that the script is not so original for all its good intention. Also Chrisenten is good, showing that he anyway didn't need the role of Anakin to be recognized. But as a moviegoer who have seen so many Hollywood films, I can say that I have seen the story before, and in a better way. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: A good house
Review: I've yet to see Kevin Klein turn in a bad performance and he carries this one off very nicely. A fundamentally simple story of disaffected people, father and son, who come together to build a house. The script works hard to stay away from hokey sentimentality and succeeds; it's less successful when it tries too hard to be amusing, particularly with the snotty neighbor who's at war with Klein's dog and the silly sidebar of Mary Steenburgen's affair with a young male friend of her daughter's. Hayden Christensen is absolutely wonderful as the pill-taking, pot-smoking, angry and alienated son. Not only is he a beautiful young man, he's also a powerful actor who's completely convincing as Klein's son. Jena Malone has grown up to be a good actress, one who looks real--as if she might actually be the daughter of Klein's next-door neighbor. The usually icy Kristin Scott Thomas is warm and unpredictable as Kevin's former wife. The film moves into Capra feel-good territory with everyone and his brother coming along to help finish building the house--which is such a wonderful-looking place that people would be lining up to live in it. The early scenes between Klein and Christensen are just terrific and it's a shame that this level of truthful intensity isn't sustained throughout the film. That said, it's an eminently watchable film; well worth the time.
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