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Features: DVD
The hilarious Steve Martin (Father Of The Bride) and Academy Award-nominee Queen Latifah (Best Supporting Actress, 2002, Chicago) star with Eugene Levy (American Pie) in the laugh-out-loud hit comedy Bringing Down The House. Peter Sanderson (Martin), a divorced, straitlaced, uptight workaholic attorney, meets a brainy bombshell lawyer in an on-line chat room and they make a date. Expecting his soul mate, he opens the door and finds himself face-to-face with Charlene (Latifah)--a wild and crazy soul "sister" who's just escaped from prison and wants Peter to clear her name. But Peter wants absolutely nothing to do with her, and that prompts Charlene to turn Peter's perfectly ordered life totally upside down. Hysterical complications abound and Peter soon finds out he may need Charlene just as much as she needs him. It's a houseful of fun your family will enjoy again and again.
"The friction between his button-down lawyer...and ghetto-fabulous fugitive...produces dazzling comic sparks..." Stella Papamichael, BBCi Films
"Latifah proves her Oscar nomination is no fluke. She has it all..." Jefferey Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
Editor's Note
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 realizes she is nothing like he thought. 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.
| Features | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Language(s): English, French | | Queen Latifah Music Video "Better Than The Rest" | | "The Godfather Of Hop" Featurette -- A Close-Up Look At Eugene Levy With Tongue Firmly Planted In Cheek | | "Da' Commentary" With Director Adam Shankman And Writer Jason Filardi | | Deleted Scenes | | Gag Reel | | "Breaking Down Bringing Down The House" Behind-The-Scenes Featurette |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Buena Vista |
| Release Date: 9/6/2005 |
| Running Time: 105 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 29125 | | UPC: 00786936208009 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Variety
"...There are certainly good laughs to be had..." 02/24/2003 p.43-51Total Film
"...The CHICAGO co-star rules the roost with her brassy attitude..." 12/01/2003 p.113 The Observer 4 of 10
It's an embarrassing parade of stereotypes and features a violent, racially motivated fight between Queen Latifah and a white woman in a ladies' lavatory at an exclusive country club. The expressions of prejudice come mainly from the white side. For instance, a neighbour of the lawyer's says: 'I thought I heard Negro.' To which he replies: 'No. No Negro spoken here.' But the black characters are presented as feckless, work-shy, hedonistic, drug-taking and criminally inclined. - Philip French
James Berardinelli's ReelViews 7 of 10
Bringing Down the House offers proof that there are times when superior performances can salvage a mediocre script. Despite working with a screenplay that would be deemed thin by some TV sit-coms, Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, and Eugene Levy combine to transform this motion picture into a rewarding movie-going experience. Certainly, director Adam Shankman deserves some credit. Although his work behind the camera is in no way remarkable, he has the good sense to stand back and let his actors do what they're best at. - James Berardinelli
San Francisco Chronicle 5 of 10
As an old billionaire and an unconscious racist, Joan Plowright has the movie's only genuinely brilliant moment, when she sings, in a reverent tone, an appalling hymn from the slavery days. But it's not a good sign when the supporting players get the best bits. Bringing Down the House makes considerably worse use of Martin, who, in a cringe-inducing scene clearly calculated to be side-splitting, goes to a hip-hop club dressed like a homeboy and shakes it up on the dance floor. - Mick LaSalle
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