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Bringing Down The Theater With Laughs!

Aaron Edson | usa | 02/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Good comedy is hard to find at the movies. I'm talking about a funny film full of punch lines, perfectly timed physical comedy, and most important, a naturally humorous plot line with characters we actually care about. If you think for a minute or two, it is tough to recall the last comedy you saw that had all these components.
The run off the mill romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days opened at the start of February. If you want to know how to lose a guy in ten days, you can easily lose him after 10 minutes of making him watch this. Two weeks later, the slapstick comedy Old School opened. Too bad it seems that the writer forgot to add a plot to all the overdone, and unoriginal gags. And now, another two weeks later on March 7th, Bringing Down the House will debut at theaters. I was lucky enough to catch this at a sneek showing that played last Saturday, 2 weeks before the movie actually opens!
Steve Martin and Queen Latifa star in what is the first, truly hilarious movie of 2003. This is definitely Martin's best since Father of the Bride, and the Queen continues her impressive film career adding this on to her resume, right under the ever-popular Chicago. Both have excellent skill in a film like this, and they work well with each other creating enough comic chemistry to blow the theater doors open.
The movies plot centers around Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin). He's a fast track lawyer with an ex-wife and two children that he never seems to have time for. While chatting online, he meets Charlene, and sets up a blind date to meet her. He's expecting a slim, blonde in her thirties, and is shocked when the hip, grooving Charlene Morton (Queen Latifa) shows up at his door.
The plot takes off from there as the odd pair starts a friendship, and while Charlene persuades him to take her criminal case ("I did the time, but I didn't do the crime baby"), she ends up teaching him more about life, relationships, and his family, than he has learned in a long time.
Though Steve Martin and Queen Latifa are the stars, an excellent, first-rate supporting cast surrounds them. First off, Eugene Levy, whom many of us know as Jim's dad from the American Pie franchise, plays Steve Martin's best friend and legal partner who becomes infatuated with Charlene's sex appeal. Other recognizable faces are a racist neighbor played by Betty White from the Golden Girls, and Joan Plowright, who co-starred as Mrs. Wilson in Dennis the Menace, as a prim and proper client of Peter Sanderson.
Martin hasn't seen a role this good in a while. It gives him the opportunity to show off his talents for humorous facial expressions, and physical comedy. Also, Queen Latifa has the spotlight on her in her best starring role to date. Though the plot might not seem completely original from what is described above, there are many twists and turns that keep the film pumping full of laughs all the way through, keeping it always fresh and new.
Overall, there isn't much more to include because I don't want to spoil any of the surprises the film springs on you. All I can say is I didn't stop laughing from the first five minutes until the closing credits. The Queen is currently working on the film Cheaper By the Dozen, co-starring Steve Martin. We could possibly be looking at a new comedy dream team. Whether we are or not, what they do in Bringing Down the House works. And it brings the audience to their knees with laughter!"