Life as a House (2001)

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

Director:

Irwin Winkler

Writer:

Mark Andrus

Stars:

Hayden Christensen, Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Kline	...	George Monroe
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Robin Kimball
Hayden Christensen	...	Sam Monroe
Jena Malone	...	Alyssa Beck
Mary Steenburgen	...	Colleen Beck
Mike Weinberg	...	Adam Kimball
Scotty Leavenworth	...	Ryan Kimball
Ian Somerhalder	...	Josh
Jamey Sheridan	...	Peter Kimball
Scott Bakula	...	Officer Kurt Walker
Sandra Nelson	...	Nurse #1
Sam Robards	...	David Dokos
John Pankow	...	Bryan Burke
Kim Delgado	...	Bob Larson
Barry Primus	...	Tom

Storyline

George Monroe is a lonely and sad man. Divorced for ten years, he lives alone on the Southern California coast with his pet dog in the same run down shack he has lived in for twenty-five years, the shack which his father passed down to him. In the intervening years, ostentatious houses have sprung up around him. He's been at the same architectural firm for twenty years in a job he hates, which primarily consists of building scale models. On the day that he is fired from his job, he is diagnosed with an advanced case of terminal cancer, which he chooses not to disclose to his family. In many ways, this day is the happiest of his recent life in that he decides to spend what little time he has left doing what he really wants to do, namely build a house he can call his own to replace the shack. He also wants his rebellious sixteen year old son, Sam Monroe, to live with him for the summer, hopefully not only to help in the house construction, but for the two to reconnect as a family. ...

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Plot Keywords:

abusive childhood | weight loss | house | cancer | construction | 

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Taglines:

Seen from a distance, it's perfect.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexuality and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

New Line

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Haus am Meer

Filming Locations:

Bermuda

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$294,056, 28 October 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$15,652,637, 30 December 2001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,920,746, 8 November 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Winkler Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The writer, Mark Andrus, is a fan of the band Guster, and named the dog after the band and two of the characters (Ryan & Adam) after two of the band members. Two of Guster's songs are featured in the movie.

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Goofs

We see Sam putting up Christmas lights for George after he goes to the hospital. Later he's walking away from the house and we see no lights on the house.

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Quotes

Robin: I wish you'd talk to him. He needs a man.
Peter Kimball: His father's a man.
Robin: A man he respects.
Peter Kimball: He respects nothing.
Sam: [Sam just then comes into the room] Thanks for talking about me behind my back. It's useful in court.

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Alternate Versions

The DVD has the one scene that William Russ filmed playing the role of Officer Kurt Walker before a motorbike crash made unable to film the rest of his role

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Connections

Edited into The Making of 'Life as a House' (2001)

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Soundtracks

Sweet Dreams
Written by David A. Stewart (as Dave Stewart) and Annie Lennox
Performed by Marilyn Manson
Courtesy of Nothing Records/Interscope Records
Used by arrangement with Universal Music Group and Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Excellent

Sense I've seen this move it has been my all time favorite! Not only do the actors play wonderfully, but the storyline of the movie is exquisite! It's about a Man(Kevin Kline) and his struggle in life with his job, family, and health. Through the move he gets in touch with his troubled son Sam(Hayden Christensen) and ex-wife Robin(Kristin Scott Thomas) a lot of anger in the beginning of the movie that transforms into smiles and laughter, it's amazing to see how the characters change so much. If you like to laugh and cry and all that good stuff you'll love this movie, Watch it, NOW! Although it truly is an excellent movie, I would not recommend this movie to anyone younger than 13, a lot of cursing, some drug usage and sexuality.