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Bringing Down the House (film)

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Bringing Down the House is a 2003 comedy film, written by Jason Filardi and directed by Adam Shankman. The film stars Queen Latifah and Steve Martin. The Russian title for the film translates as House Upside Down.

Cast

Setting

The bulk of the film takes place in Pasadena, California, where the Sandersons live. Other locations include Downtown Los Angeles and Santa Monica as well as the community of Watts, whose famous Watts Towers appear in a scene where Charlene is forced to leave the Sandersons' home.

Plot

Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a workaholic tax attorney corresponding with an online friend known only as "lawyer-girl". On their first blind date, Peter learns that "lawyer-girl" is Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), a wrongfully convicted bank robber claiming her innocence who wants Peter's help in getting the charges dropped. Peter also must deal with Virginia Arness (Joan Plowright), an eccentric billionaire, to bring her business to his firm, as well as competitive colleagues and bosses. His neighbor, Mrs. Kline (Betty White), who happens to be related to one of the senior partners, is a nosy bigot. Peter attempts to juggle these issues as well as reconcile with his estranged wife (Jean Smart) and children (Kimberly J. Brown and Angus T. Jones).

Reception

Box office

On a budget of $35 million the film became a surprise hit. It earned $132.6 million in the U.S. and an international gross of $32 million, bringing its world wide gross to $164.6 million.

Awards & nominations

  • In 2004, won a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, awarded to Queen Latifah.
  • In 2004, nominated for a MTV Movie Award for Best Dance Sequence - Steve Martin, Best Female Performance - Queen Latifah, and Best Fight (between Latifah and Pyle).

Behind-the-scenes

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

This is the only movie to feature Tae Bo as a fighting style.

Ashley condescendingly refers to Charlene as "Shaniqua" during one argument, the name of Latifah's character in Scary Movie 3, released later that year.

In the movie Georgey is seen playing a white Game Boy Advance.

Peter Sanderson's computer is a PowerBook G4 Adam Shankman would work with Steve Martin and Eugene Levy again in the 2005 sequel to Cheaper By The Dozen, Cheaper By The Dozen 2.

On the special features of the DVD, it is mentioned that most of the slang in the movie is made up, since the slang on the street changes so rapidly. So they just got creative.

In 2003, New York Attorney and Screenwriter Marie Flaherty filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Jason Filardi, Queen Latifah and the other producers of Bringing Down The House claiming that Boston Attorney George N. Tobia, Jr., who represented both her and Tobia’s friend Jason Filardi, gave her screenplay Amoral Dilemma, about a lawyer that finds a prisoner on-line, to Jason Filardi who passed it off as his own. A trial date is pending in Federal Court in New York. Interesting to note character names: “Georgey” and “Tobias” = Attorney George Tobia.

Sequel

According to Yahoo! Movies, a sequel is expected but Queen Latifah and Steve Martin will not be returning. It is rumoured that the central plot will revolve around Eugene Levy's character, Howie.

Queen Latifah confirms there will be no sequel: "The powers at Disney just couldn't see themselves writing the cheques. Steve and I were too expensive for them."

References

External links



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Last updated on Thursday February 28, 2008 at 15:45:18 PST (GMT -0800)
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