Bringing Down the House

Reviewed by:
Ben Goldstein

It’s a story pulled right from today’s headlines: Man meets woman on Internet; woman turns out to be escaped convict out for revenge; convict comes to man’s house, butchers his entire family. Now, they’ve taken some liberties—the man is stiff, bumbling Steve Martin, the woman is sweet, succulent Queen Latifah, the family-butchering angle is minimized, etc.—but you get the idea. The only problem with Bringing Down the House is…just…the entire premise. OK, last time: A black person is taken from the “’hood,” or in this case, “jail,” to bring much needed “flava” into the lives of really uptight white folks. Before ya know it, the white people, God bless ’em, aren’t so uptight anymore; they talk black, they breakdance, they even smoke marijuana—just like black people!

Surprisingly enough, House has enough going on to almost save the film, including great performances by Betty White (as Martin’s racist neighbor) and Eugene Levy (brilliantly lecherous here), as well as possibly the most brutal catfight ever captured on film. But then the embarassing clichés ruin it all over again. If you think racial comedies should have ended with Blazing Saddles, stay far, far away from this movie. But if you’re still unclear on the wacky differences between black people and white people, this movie will have you straight trippin’, boo! And by boo, we mean “you moron.”