Bringing Down the House

Directed by Adam Shankman, Bringing Down the House details the chaos that ensues after a lawyer’s (Steve Martin’s Peter Sanderson) online love interest turns out to be a felon (Queen Latifah’s Charlene Morton) recently released from prison. It’s an agreeable premise that’s employed to watchable yet entirely forgettable effect by Shankman, as the filmmaker, armed with Jason Filardi’s screenplay, delivers a decent-enough comedy that’d be hardly worth mentioning were it not for the uniformly compelling, entertaining performances – with the strong work by leads Martin and Latifah matched by an eclectic supporting cast that includes Eugene Levy, Jean Smart, and Michael Rosenbaum. There’s little doubt, then, that Bringing Down the House‘s overall impact is dulled significantly by a midsection riddled with less-than-spellbinding scenes and stretches, including a fairly pointless subplot involving one of Peter’s racist neighbors (Betty White’s Mrs. Kline), although it’s equally clear that the picture does build towards a satisfying (and genuinely funny) climax wherein Martin’s character attempts to blend in at an urban dance club – which does, in the end, cement the movie’s place as an affable timewaster that benefits substantially from the top-tier efforts of its various actors.

**1/2 out of ****