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Bringing Down the House

Bringing Down the House

Comedy · Drama · 2003

Uptight lawyer Peter Sanderson wants to dive back into dating after his divorce and has a hard time meeting the right women. He tries online dating and lucks out when he starts chatting with a fellow lawyer. The two agree to meet in the flesh, but the woman he meets — an escaped African-American convict named Charlene — is not what he expected. Peter is freaked out, but Charlene tries to convince him to take her case and prove her innocence. Along the way, she wreaks havoc on his middle-class life as he gets a lesson in learning to lighten up.

Movie details

Bringing Down the House

“Everything he needed to know about life, she learned in prison.”

2003 Comedy · Drama 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.0 / 10

Community rating

Uptight lawyer Peter Sanderson wants to dive back into dating after his divorce and has a hard time meeting the right women. He tries online dating and lucks out when he starts chatting with a fellow lawyer. The two agree to meet in the flesh, but the woman he meets — an escaped African-American convict named Charlene — is not what he expected. Peter is freaked out, but Charlene tries to convince him to take her case and prove her innocence. Along the way, she wreaks havoc on his middle-class life as he gets a lesson in learning to lighten up.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Bringing Down the House?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Adam Shankman

Written by

Jason Filardi

Steve Martin

Steve Martin

Peter Sanderson

Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah

Charlene Morton

Eugene Levy

Eugene Levy

Howie Rottman

Joan Plowright

Joan Plowright

Mrs. Virginia Arness

Jean Smart

Jean Smart

Kate Sanderson

Kimberly J. Brown

Kimberly J. Brown

Sarah Sanderson

Angus T. Jones

Angus T. Jones

Georgey Sanderson

Court is in session

Put Bringing Down the House on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.