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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"Steve Martin and Queen Latifah in a comedy should've probably deserved a stronger script, though they're still top-notch comedians, and they're a riot together." --from the review
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Bringing Down the House
Click picture to order this DVD (widescreen) Full Screen Also Available, Click Here. A Techtite ReviewAs Always, a review of The Film and The DVD (extras)! The Film: I really needed this. We all need this. After all the finger pointing and name calling on TV (and that's just on Survivor), and all the really dreary movies in the past half year like The Hours and The Life of David Gale, I really needed this. Namely, I needed Steve Martin and Queen Latifah. Best of all, I needed at least one film where a man and a woman are able to work things out, against impossible odds, without getting killed trying. Am I asking too much? It doesn't matter; because for what I needed this week, Bringing Down the House delivered. Yes, it has all the nutritional equivalent of a bag of chee-tos. Sure, it's hardly original in premise. Yet Martin and Latifah are two excellent performers, who can make any movie script work. It may not be Shakespeare, though I think I've had enough Shakespearean tragedies for now. It's time for a silly comedy in my life, that --if at all humanly possible-- does not include Will Ferrell naked. This fits the bill. In this case, Martin is Peter Sanderson, a straight-laced lawyer who tries to get some excitement in his live via an internet pen pal named Charlene (Latifah). As it turns out, Charlene is an ex-con, who is convinced Peter is a tough lawyer who can reopen her case and prove her innocence. Meanwhile, Peter has needs of his own, due to his desperate attempts to win back his now ex-wife, Kate (Jean Smart). Both has something the other needs; though as the typical "odd couple" cliché goes, can they manage to help each other without driving each other crazy? Charlene at first goes to the extreme to get Peter to reopen her case. She begins by making his snooty, almost constipated life miserable, then changes tracks to help out with his children and help him reconcile with Kate. Meanwhile, Peter learns to lighten up a bit, in a change of pace far more believable than Susan Sarandon's "need" to remember her sluttish past as a rock star groupie n The Banger Sisters. Unlike that film, it isn't implied that Peter should quit his clean cut life to be a rock star slut; Peter simply needs to lighten up a little. Agreed. Some people won't get the humor. Natty café-philosophers who like to pretend to chuckle at the hundredth film with the thousandth farting old lady joke, will not likely laugh in this film. The jokes here are instead by a pair of top-notch comediennes working alongside one another to enhance their performances. Neither performer is the straight man here, as much as giving the other's performance what it has lately lacked. Latifah, for one, is a screen gem who seems to be always incorrectly placed in a supporting role, where here she is given a limelight she deserves. Martin is the "wild and crazy guy" deep inside, who has been forced to be the straight man in comedy for the past few years. When Peter is taught by Charlene to stop denying the "wild and crazy guy" inside, we don't feel just for Peter, though for Steve Martin as well. Not that Charlene doesn't help in other areas of Peter's life. The scene where she gives comeuppance to the dirtbag who tried to date rape Peter's daughter, will appeal to almost everyone (except date rapists, though who cares?). Then there's the moment when Charlene locks claws with Peter's sister-in-law, Ashley (Missi Pyle). Ashley is a gold-digging shrew who, ain't no doubt, needs what is known as a "bitch slap," big time...and in the catfight to end all catfights, Charlene gives it to her, big time. If you like seeing the evil coyote chasing the defenseless road runner get hit on the head with an anvil, you'll probably think this scene is a riot. I know I did. The only downside of the film is the retroactive racism. To be blunt: if Charlene was played by Sharon Stone or Linda Fiorentino, it is a foregone conclusion that this would be a romance comedy. The fact it is merely a "buddy comedy" gives off the aura of being mildly racist, even if in truth it is pretty silly for a lawyer to ride off into the sunset with an ex-con. However, it is not uncommon in romance comedies for a horrifically mismatched pair to get married by the final reel, so the fact it isn't even attempted here is suspect. Spoilers notwithstanding, I didn't like the implication that Peter would be better off mending fences with "ex" Kate more than building new ones with Charlene. How do you figure that, when it's implied Kate callously dumped Peter to be with some young gigolo? Then she wants to mend fences when the gigolo turns out to be all brawn, no brains. Boo-hoo for Kate. When she and Peter reunite, it's a happy ending for her more than him. However, I would consider it almost impossible to give thumbs-down to a film starring Martin and Latifah, with Jean Smart, Eugene Levy, and even Betty White in supporting roles. There's even a superior supporting performance from Joan Plowright, who perfectly performs a very stuffy client of Peter's. However, it's Levy, in particular, who is the real gem. He's given the "Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny" role in this comedy, I suppose, where his role could've been played on cruise control yet he gives it something extra. Unlike Peter, he knows a good thing when he sees it, and sets his sights on Charlene. Who can blame him?
The DVD: This DVD has all the amenities of a good DVD: deleted scenes, a gag reel, a behind the scenes featurette, and an audio commentary from the director (Adam Shankman) writer (Jason Filardi) and Queen Latifah. Huh...? No Steve Martin? Well, his first theatrical lead role was The Jerk, right? Just kidding; he probably just had a movie filming at the time. It's still a shame he wasn't there when Queen Latifah made the time to be there. It makes him look like a male "diva" or something. Now, it's important to note this DVD isn't flawless just because of a very eye-grabbing bonus material list. The Gag Reel in particular isn't very gag-worthy, and as for the deleted scenes, well, let me tell them to you (seven in all, totalling around 9 minutes) and see what you think. "Charlene in the House" has Peter explain why it would be best that Mrs. Kline doesn't see her. Another deleted scene has Howie upset that Peter "slept" with Charlene, while another scene has Charlene bitch slap Mike and "Golfing With Arness." So far, not-so-good... Not that all deletions are bad. In case you wondered how Charlene got all her clothes fresh out of prison, "Charlene & Peter Shopping Spree" explains this...sort of. This sort of co0ncept continues in an additional deleted scene, "Ashley Spies on Charlene & Peter," which extends the comedy between Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, and their funny repartee with a sales lady. Meanwhile, "Howie Pushes Up On Charlene" offers more comedy between Eugene Levy and Queen Latifah, which is always funny. Added to the extras is the Queen Latifah music video "Better Than the Rest," and a featurette about "The Godfather of Hop." I'll leave it up as a surprise as to who that is. Oh, I was never good at secrets: it's Euegene Levy! His influence on hip-hop is explored, with anecdotes from the cast of this film, as well as choreographer Anne Fletcher. As for me I'm off to another movie review. That's not to say I didn't like this film; I certainly, irrefutably did. I would recommend anyone to see it. It just isn't worth spending a whole work day reviewing, you know? Interpret that as you will.
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