Bringing Down the House, 2003

This wasn't a bad movie. It had some good performances and a few laughs. Then again, this wasn't a great movie, either. There was nothing original about it. Every gag in the film, and the story line itself, is recycled material. Steve Martin was good, but even his performance was a rehash of stuff he's done before (watch for the "wild and crazy guy" dance, circa 1978 or so). Eugene Levy mainly played Eugene Levy, which he's good at doing, but, again, it's nothing we haven't seen before. Queen Latifah as Charlene is relatively believable, but her performance isn't anything to write home about. She's very good at mugging for the camera; her facial expressions in this film are exaggerated enough to remind one of a silent film. A few cute moments and worth a laugh or two. I'm not entirely sure who the target audience for this film is, but it does seem to be doing well at the box office. My favorite thing about it has nothing to do with the overt racial agenda, which is so blatant that it doesn't even bare talking about. Instead, I like the fact that the lead female character isn't skeletally skinny, but is still portrayed as attractive (and I think she's drop dead sexy, in fact, but that's just me!) Overall, I'd give this film a 5 out of 10, but it gets an extra point for Queen Latifah delivering the line "Go ahead, grab these." Generally, this is a pretty forgettable movie that offers nothing new, but it is a chance to catch a little bit of old school Steve Martin clowning.

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