Life as a House

Pros: Some Fun Moments & Performances from Kline, Thomas, and Jena Malone.
Cons: Generic Script & Tone, Hayden Christensen, Soundtrack, & Underused Supporting Cast.

Since the release of Sam Mendes’ 1999 masterpiece “American Beauty”, the idea of men in mid-life crises trying to re-live their youth through their children or quitting a job they loathed became a new formula in movies. One film that captured a formula ...

Pros: Fantastic Drama-Kevin Kline is phenomenal.
Cons: none

Life as a House is the kind of movie that leaves you feeling different at its conclusion. Whether it is the thrill of learning something new about ones own existence or perhaps it is the witnessing of one of the best performances by actor Kevin Kline I...

Pros: Terrific movie about bonding today.
Cons: The sexuality is a little shadowy and ambiguous.

LIFE AS A HOUSE is a movie that may not make much sense if you have never been much of a part of a functional, two-parent family. It also may not make much sense to you if you have never been a part of a hands-on construction project, like...

Pros: The acting, the cinematography, and moments of the script
Cons: The direction and writing are a bad combination and the score is painful

There are elements of Life as a House that suggest hints of a great movie. Kevin Kline, for example, is as good as he's been in a dramatic role since The Ice Storm. Hayden Christensen suggests enough talent to suggest that Star Wars aside, he may be an...

Pros: Offers an emotional catharsis, high-lighted by Kevin Kline's excellent performance.
Cons: It's a two-hankie weeper, constructed within a syrupy, trite, predictable framework.

Take one dying man, add his drug-addicted son and dysfunctional family, toss in a dastardly neighbor, mix well with pathos and you have this old-fashioned inspirational drama that's guaranteed to be a two-hankie weeper.

Kevin Kline...

Pros: Excellent cast...
Cons: ...but wasted on this bomb.

I saw Life As A House after a somewhat tiring day of ten straight hours of television. Australia at present is currently alternating with blistering heat and these ferocious cyclonic thunderstorms which hit with almost Swiss accuracy at 4:30pm ...

Pros: story, acting
Cons: none

This movie is about a man, estranged from his son, divorced, facing a fairly bleak existence. Then something even worse happens, he has cancer. It is inoperable so he sets about trying to mend the broken relationships he has in his life. On a ...

Pros: Sunny cliffside dreamlife, California-style father-son bonding, actual plot
Cons: Morally empty, gratitutious sex scenes, nympho mother-and-daughter, divorce as normal, teenagers as aimless

Kevin Kline plays the stereotypical Californian, a man lucky enough to work in his chosen field, architecture, yet hate his job for 20 years. When he's finally fired - since computer models have replaced his 3-D model-building skills - he's presumably...

Pros: Kevin Kline. Kristin Scott Thomas...kind of.
Cons: Melodrama overkill in both script and direction.

I’m getting sick of these movies that preach to us out here in the heartland about how dysfunctional we all are and what we need to do to change and become enlightened. I’m not arguing that some of us suburbanites don’t need to, but for Hollywood of all...

Pros: Good story line towards the end
Cons: slow moving

When I go to my local video store to find a movie to rent, I love to read the back of the video first to see if it sounds good or not. I know if it was like a page long of reading I would be bored of it, I want to know the general information about the...

Pros: Simple, emotional, beautiful, the ending is terrific, triumphant acting.
Cons: None...I really enjoyed watching this movie.

Kevin Kline and Kristen Scott Thomas star in one of the best films of 2001. Life as a House is an entertaining, yet solmn film which, like its predecessor, American Beauty, toys with the fact that the ideal "Father Knows Best" lifestyle of yesteryear,...

Pros: Kline and Christensen are both very good.
Cons: The film is too manipulative for its own good.

“Life As A House” is two things. A film that works on all levels and makes you feel for the characters and cry for the characters (Oh, yes, you will cry. If you don’t you are an emotionless pig.) It is also a very calculated film. “Life As A House” is...

Pros: Kevin Kline and Hayden Christensen.
Cons: A maudlin melodrama better suited for the tube.

If it weren't for the big screen level acting talent involved, Life as a House could have easily been one of those disease-of-the-week TV movies that hit the network airwaves with alarming frequency. But there's only so much that an actor can do...

Pros: Strong performances from Kline, Christiansen and Malone, a deep, realistic message..
Cons: ..that sometimes goes over the top, or tugs shamelessly at your heartstrings

Being an unattached, childless, slightly under achieving man approaching his mid-30s, you can imagine that the pressure and expectations from both friends and family grows with every day that this status remains unchanged. Also not helping matters much...

Pros: Kline and Christensen's performances are some of the best
Cons: Parts might be a little depressing for some

Expect good things to come from Life as a House, probably including an Oscar nomination for Kevin Kline's performance as George Monroe.

Monroe is a divorced architect who goes through the routines, but seems to be lacking something meaningful...