Bringing Down the House

A man looking for a woman just like himself ends up with someone quite different in this farcical comedy. Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a lawyer who is having trouble getting his life back on track after his wife, Kate (Jean Smart), divorces him; he's also adjusting to his new status as a single ...more

Pulling off a comedy about race relations is difficult. In order for it to work, everyone's assumptions and stereotypes must be skewered. Bringing Down the House only supplies half the equation. Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) makes false assumptions about what Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah) thinks, knows, and is. The problem is that Charlene does not make these same stereotypical assumptions about Peter. Since only Peter is required to change, the film loses half of its potential comedy right ...more