Bringing Down the House (2003)

When a lonely guy meets a woman on the internet who happens to be in prison, she breaks out to get him to prove her innocence, and proceeds to wreak havoc on his middle-class life.

Director:

Adam Shankman

Writer:

Jason Filardi

Stars:

Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy

4 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Martin	...	Peter Sanderson
Queen Latifah	...	Charlene Morton
Eugene Levy	...	Howie Rottman
Joan Plowright	...	Virginia Arness
Jean Smart	...	Kate Sanderson
Kimberly J. Brown	...	Sarah Sanderson
Angus T. Jones	...	Georgey Sanderson
Missi Pyle	...	Ashley
Michael Rosenbaum	...	Todd Gendler
Betty White	...	Mrs. Kline
Steve Harris	...	Widow
Jim Haynie	...	Ed Tobias
Aengus James	...	Mike
Jernard Burks	...	Widow's Bodyguard
Bronzell Miller	...	Widow's Bodyguard

Storyline

Peter Sanderson is a divorced, straight-laced, uptight attorney who still loves his ex-wife and can't figure out what he did wrong to make her leave him. However, Peter's trying to move on, and he's smitten with a brainy, bombshell barrister he's been chatting with online. However, when she comes to his house for their first face-to-face, she isn't refined, isn't Ivy League, and isn't even a lawyer. Instead, it's Charlene, a prison escapee who's proclaiming her innocence and wants Peter to help her clear her name. But Peter wants nothing to do with her, prompting the loud and shocking Charlene to turn Peter's perfectly ordered life upside down, jeopardizing his effort to get back with his wife and won a billion dollar client.

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Plot Keywords:

william shakespeare character | lawyer | divorce | villain arrested | spanking | 

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Taglines:

Bring it. March 7.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual humor and drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Touchstone site at Yahoo.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

JailBabes.com

Filming Locations:

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$33,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,101,026, 9 March 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$132,716,677

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$164,729,679

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Hyde Park Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steve Martin, Angus T. Jones and Missi Pyle are from Texas. Queen Latifah is from New Jersey, Eugene Levy is from Canada, Jean Smart is from Washington, Kimberly J. Brown is from Maryland, and Joan Plowright is from England.

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Goofs

When Charlene is talking to Widow for the first time beside the pool, the water of the pool is very active. When Charlene comes inside after the chat, the water is perfectly still.

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Quotes

Mrs. Kline: Those latin people that were skulking around here earlier...
Peter Sanderson: Oh, they were looking at that house down the street.
Mrs. Kline: Casing it?
Peter Sanderson: No, no, they were looking to buy.
Mrs. Kline: Oh, please. If those people are on this block and not holding a leaf blower...
Peter Sanderson: We'll talk more about this later, Mrs. Kline!

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to residents of McCadden Place.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cleveland Show: Here Comes the Bribe (2013)

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Soundtracks

Let Go
Written by Just Blaze, Eve and Frankie Beverly
Produced by Just Blaze
Performed by Eve
Courtesy of Ruff Ryders/Interscope Records
Contains a sample from "Before I Let Go" (1981)
Performed by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & TV Music

User Reviews

Clichéd to the Core but Latifah, Martin and Plowright Add Their Own Touch

This is pretty much another one of those typical culture clash comedies where a streetsmart character meets the classy rich character, there's conflict and then the conflict is resolved and friendship blossoms, then there's another conflict but that too is resolved by the end. The story has been told x number of times. But what makes 'Bringing Down The House' likable is Queen Latifah, Steve Martin and Joan Plowright. These three provide some laugh-out-loud moments some including Martin and Latifah's dance number, Martin dressing and talking 'black', Queen Latifah and Missy Pyle's catfight and doing a break-dance, Plowright's pompous and stuck up character getting stoned, Peter's neighbour catching him and Charlene in a compromising position. The chemistry between Latifah and Martin is convincing and both have a good comic timing. Thus, even though the story has nothing new to offer, the funny moments make 'Bringing Down The House' fun to watch.