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:

Everything he needed to know about life, she learned in prison.

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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

Jason Filardi's original screenplay was entitled "Jailbabe.com". He had Adam Sandler and Angelina Jolie in mind when he first wrote it.

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Goofs

In the beginning of the movie, when Peter gets the instant message at work and Howie goes to look at the laptop, the Apple logo is not lit up as it would be when the laptop's power is on.

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Quotes

Howie Rottman: Do me a favor, precious: don't ever scare me like that again, or I'm gonna give you a nasty spankie... if I'm not being too subtle!
Charlene Morton: [smiles] He's such a damn freak!

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to residents of McCadden Place.

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Connections

References Casino Royale (1967)

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Soundtracks

I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Babe
(1973)
Written and Performed by Barry White
Courtesy of The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Comedy of the year!

This movie was amazing, Steve Martin and Queen Latifah are a great team they made the whole movie so much fun. When Peter Sanderson (Martin) expects a date with a classy lawyer at his home, instead a large loud woman just out of prison Charlene (Latifah), appears on his doorstep and comes into his home and his life with a bang! At the end of this hilarious movie after a whole lot of havoc Charlene and Peter actually build up a good relationship despite their differences. All of the cast were brilliantly picked including Peters hilarious assistant (Eugene Levy) Mrs Arness (Joan Plowright) and The Sanderson kids, they all contributed to making this film the movie of 2003!