Stars: Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy, Jean Smart, Joan Plowright, Missi Pyle, Steve Harris

Director: Adam Shankman

Summary: An uptight lawyer who is a divorced father of two, Peter Sanderson 'meets' a beautiful single lawyer on an internet dating site. The pair agrees to meet up in person and Peter gets quite a shock when Charlene Morton turns up at his door. Charlene is an African-American woman who has recently escaped from prison and not the buxom blonde lawyer that she pretended to be... Charlene needs Peter's help to prove that she didn't commit the crime that she was convicted of...

Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a divorced workaholic L.A. lawyer trying to forget his ex-wife (Jean Smart). Successful but lonely, Peter falls for an online chat buddy and is eager to meet his dream girl, until he meets the real woman behind the screen name and realises she is not at all like he'd imagined. Instead of a svelte blonde businesswoman he comes face to face with Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), a sassy African American ex-con who is eager to infiltrate Peter's stereotypically uptight white suburban world. Charlene wants Peter to defend her and prove she's innocent of a crime that she didn't commit but Peter wants nothing to do with the fast-talking homegirl. However, Peter's geeky best friend Howie (Eugene Levy) feels different and begins to woo the voluptuous diva with "hip" street lingo and hysterically deadpan come-ons. Soon enough, Charlene is shacked up in Peter's palatial estate, throwing wild parties, and opening his eyes to life, love and infectious freedom. Steve Martin and Queen Latifah are a fresh and dynamic comic team in this hysterical spin on the black-white buddy comedy that is a mixture of PRETTY WOMAN and THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR.

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The pleasingly contrasting comic styles of Queen Latifah and Steve Martin bring some energy to Bringing Down the House, an otherwise 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

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Featurette - 1. MAKING OF: Breakin' Down Bringing Down the House, 2. GODFATHER OF HIPHOP, Commentary - 1. Adam Shankman - Director, 2. Jason Filardi - Writer, Queen Latifah Music Video: Better than the Rest, Deleted Scenes, Outtakes
Year:	2003
Release Date:	January 12, 2004
Runtime:	105 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	B E D 888927
Keywords:	House, Comedy, Bringing, General, Down
Genre:	Comedy