IN
THE HOUZE aka Bringing Down House Script Review
Cast: Queen Latifah,
Steve Martin, Kimberly J. Brown, Angus T. Jones, Eugene Levy,
Joan Plowright, Missi Pyle, Jean Smart, Betty White; Director:
Adam Shankman
 IN
THE HOUZE is a comedy film (some might argue that it's a romantic-comedy,
but I think it's more of a comedy with romance in it) currently
filming (since April, 2002) in Los Angeles, California. Written
by Jason Filardi, this script marks Filardi's first attempt at
screen writing (not bad...); he must be qualified as a writer
as he once acted as a paramedic in The Craft(1996)....huh? This
one's production companies are Bungalow 78 Productions(Patch Adams(1998)),
Hyde Park Entertainment(Original Sin(2001)), Kushner-Locke Company(Swing(1999)),
Meespierson Film CV(Child's Play 5(2002)), WMG Film(Tom and Jerry:The
Movie(1992)), and...oh, I guess that's all (whew!). IN THE HOUZE
will be distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and Disney's Touchstone
Pictures. It has a budget of around 20 million US dollars. Adam
Shankman(The Wedding Planner(2001) and A Walk to Remember(2002))
directs this pic.
This comedic romp through one
man's upscale, uptown, urban attitude and landscape showcases
the comedic styling of 56-year old Steve Martin (you MIGHT have
heard of him in Bowfinger(1999), The Jerk(1979...and it's hilarious),
!Three Amigos!(1986...it's also hilarious), or if you ever watched
classic Saturday Night Live on TV) as slick veteran ad-man Peter
Hartman. As the script opens, Peter's struggle with a mid-life
crisis becomes evident; he bought a BMW convertible, divorced
his wife Kate(played by 42-year old Jean Smart of Forever Fabulous(2000),
The Kid(2000), and Snow Day(2000...man, she was busy in 2000!)),
ignores his kids (Sarah(15) and Georgey(8)), and frequently chats
with chicks in an internet chat room...Uh-oh...Enter Chastity,
who is played by 32-year old Queen Latifah(you've seen her in
numerous television programs such as Living Single(1993)).
 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
That's the sound Peter's life
makes as he spirals around in the tornadic, semi-tragic comedy
winds that also whirl around fellow story players Peter's best
friend Howie Ackerman (played by 55-year old Canadian born master
of comedy Eugene Levy(A Mighty Wind(2002), American Pie(s)(1999
& 2001), Greg the Bunny(2002 TV series), and, of course, SCTV(Second
City Television) from 1976 onward), Peter's boss Daniel Simons(played
by 58-year old Michael Ensign(Not Another Teen Movie(2001), Titanic(1997),
and, everyone's favorite, Children of the Corn III(1994)), Kate's
younger sis Ashley(played by 29-year old Missi Pyle(Exposed(2002)
and Josie and the Pussycats(2001)), and the staunch, stodgy, Southern,
whitey-proud Mrs. Arness(played by 80-year old(Good for her!)
veteran chuckle-gal Betty White(The Story of Us(1999), MANY TV
programs such as the Mary Tyler Moore Show(started in 1970), and
Match Game '73 - '79 (Yes! he-he...)).
 THIS
SCRIPT WAS WRITTEN FOR STEVE MARTIN! Or so it reads... if Filardi
didn't have Martin in mind when he penned this one, the casting
crew (featuring Kim Coleman as Casting Associate) did their homework.
Martin's (Peter's) lines read well with that uppity, constantly
surprised, rolling with the punches sardonic wit that Steve Martin
has proven time and again he can do quite well. And Betty White
and Eugene Levy can EASILY pull off brilliance in their assigned
roles. Queen Latifah...she's the key. This is her first BIG TIME
screen debut opposite quality stars. Can she hold up her part
of the script? I think so...or, at least, I hope so... She does
have plenty of comedy acting experience on TV; if she can carry
it over to the wide screen, this film should be pretty good despite
having some of Latifah's dialogue sounding a little too stereotypical
at times as if it wasn't written by someone from the portrayed
type of hood. I think a big part of the film's success does rest
on Queen Latifah's shoulders. Can she pull her role off successfully?
The rest of the questions of possible film success rest on the
quality of the directorial work of Adam Shankman; as Mr. Shankman's
background is mostly in choreographing 25 or so pics since 1992(Wedding
Planner(2001), Mission to Mars(2000 - Great ballroom dancing sequences
on Mars, if you remember...), and Deuce Bigalow(1999)), we shall
see (in 2003) how he manages the cast, story, and locations of
this film.
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