neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Bringing Down The House
	Adam Shankman Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Jean Smart, Missi Pyle, Michael Rosenbaum, Betty White, Steve Harris 2003		With the powerhouse casting of Steve Martin and Queen Latifah in the leads, "Bringing Down the House" had the potential to be an improbable, extremely funny culture-clash comedy. Martin is Peter, an uptight W.A.S.P. tax lawyer unhappily separated from his wife (Jean Smart) and two kids. Peter believes he's found new love in a Web chat room devoted to legal issues. Only Charlene, the stimulating blond lawyer that he covets via e-mail, is actually a convicted felon as well as a large 'n' lovely black woman (Latifah). When sassy Charlene shows up at Peter's suburban home to get busy with her soulmate, it seems inevitable that the movie will explode into hilarity. But the filmmakers don't take this slapdash, predictable film far enough, and the laughs, about a trailer's worth, aren't numerous enough. Peter's appalled and must conceal Charlene from his snooty bosses, patrician client (Joan Plowright) and bigoted neighbor (Betty White). While Martin mugs and Latifah charms, most of the good lines go to Eugene Levy as Peter's co-worker, a jive-talking, middle-aged white guy who hankers for full-figured African-American gals.