Bringing Down the House(2003)

PG-13
1h 45m
- Comedy

Release Date: Mar 7, 2003 | Wide

33%
49%
B+
5.6

When a lonely guy meets a woman on the internet who happens to be in prison, she breaks out to get him to prove her innocence, and proceeds to wreak havoc on his middle-class life.

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Director & Top Cast

Adam Shankman
Director

Steve Martin
Peter Sanderson

Queen Latifah
Charlene Morton

Eugene Levy
Howie Rottman

Joan Plowright
Mrs. Arness

Jean Smart
Kate

Kimberly J. Brown

Sarah Sanderson

Angus T. Jones

Georgey Sanderson

Missi Pyle

Ashley

Michael Rosenbaum

Todd Gendler

Betty White

Mrs. Kline

Steve Harris

Widow

Jim Haynie

Ed Tobias

Aengus James

Mike

Jernard Burks

Widow's Bodyguard

Bronzell Miller

Widow's Bodyguard

Matt Lutz

Aaron

Randy Oglesby

FBI Agent

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: DTS,Dolby Digital,SDDS

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a workaholic tax attorney, separated from his wife Kate (Jean Smart) and often too busy for their children, Sarah (Kimberly J. Brown) and Georgie (Angus T. Jones). Kate is already dating a much younger Glen (Victor Webster), who used to caddie for Peter when Glen was 14. Ashley (Missi Pyle), Kate's openly promiscuous and gold-digging younger sister. Peter arranges a blind date at his home with Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), a woman he has been chatting with online. Misled by her photograph and description, he is shocked to discover that she is actually a felon who corresponded with him from prison. Charlene tries to blackmail (with transcripts of their chats and emails exchanged over the last few months) Peter into clearing her name of armed robbery, claiming she is innocent, but he throws her out after several attempts (she throws a house party for her friends at Peter's house and locks Peter out).Just as Peter is about to meet with a difficult client, Mrs. Virginia Arness (Joan Plowright) (Mrs Virginia is in the market for a new tax lawyer firm and Peter has promised to bring her in. His plan is to give her free estate planning, so that the firm can land her corporate taxation business), he is ambushed by Charlene, who draws the lustful attention of his friend and colleague Howie Rottman (Eugene Levy). Agreeing to help expunge Charlene's record and let her stay at his house, Peter lies that she is his nanny. Ashley sees Peter (as she was at the same club having lunch) refer to Charlene as their nanny and informs Kate. Charlene is disrespected by Kate's unpleasant sister, Ashley (Missi Pyle), but subdues her in a vicious locker-room brawl.Peter takes Charlene to dinner, and Kate is upset to spot them dancing together. Returning home, Charlene coaches a drunk Peter on winning Kate back, and they are caught in a compromising position by Peter's bigoted neighbor Mrs. Kline (Betty White), his boss' (Ed Tobias (Jim Haynie)) sister. Charlene helps Georgie overcome his struggles with reading, rescues Sarah (who pretends to be dating the "nice guy" Aaron (Matt Lutz), but sneaks out to party with "bad boy" Mike) from unwanted advances at a party (Mike forces Sarah to have sex, and when Sarah calls Charlene to come help her, she hangs Mike upside down), and guides Peter toward becoming a more understanding parent.Impressing Kate with his new commitment to spending time with their kids, Peter attempts to invite her over but is interrupted by a call, to Kate's disappointment. He races home to meet Mrs. Arness, who invites herself to dinner and reminisces fondly about her family's degrading treatment of black servants, angering Charlene. A TV news report declares Charlene a fugitive, having broken out of prison, and includes security footage from a bank robbery, appearing to prove that a masked Charlene committed the crime.Mrs. Arness leaves, refusing to sign the lucrative contract for Peter's firm, and Peter sends Charlene away. At the office, he discovers Mrs. Arness has notified the FBI (as technically Peter was harboring a fugitive) and sneaks out to his car. He is threatened at gunpoint by Widow (Steve Harris), Charlene's ex-boyfriend, who warns him not to reopen her case, but Peter manages to drive off. Realizing Widow must have framed Charlene, Peter returns home to ask for his children's help finding her.Sarah admits that she gave Charlene his cell phone, which Peter calls and picks Charlene up. He explains that she was set up by Widow, who is likely at a club downtown. Peter drops Charlene off at his house, saying he is returning to the office, but instead goes to the club. Buying street clothes off of a passer-by, Peter enters the club in disguise. Kate arrives at Peter's house to find the children waiting while the FBI search the premises. Charlene calls Howie to drive her to the home of Mrs. Arness, who refuses to let Charlene explain herself, leading Charlene and Howie to kidnap Mrs. Arness and her beloved French bulldog. Charlene calls Sarah and realizes Peter went to the club, where Peter attempts to blend in but is captured by Widow.Peter gets Widow to confess to having committed the robbery disguised as Charlene. Arriving at the club, Mrs. Arness gets drunk and high while Charlene calls the authorities, and she and Howie confront Widow. After a scuffle for his gun, Widow shoots Charlene, and the FBI storm the club. Charlene is saved from the bullet by Peter's titanium cell phone, and Peter reveals that he recorded Widow's confession on a boombox, leading to Charlene's exoneration and Widow's arrest. Having secured Mrs. Arness as a multi-billion-dollar client, Peter and Howie start their own firm. Moving into their new office, Peter is surprised by Charlene, and they exchange thanks for their impact on each other's lives. Kate arrives, and she and Peter reconcile as his cell phone rings. He tosses it out the window and they kiss; downstairs, Charlene and Howie appear to do the same.

Storyline

Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a divorced, straight-laced, uptight attorney who still loves his ex-wife and can't figure out what he did wrong to make her leave him. However, Peter's trying to move on, and he's smitten with a brainy, bombshell lawyer with whom he's been chatting on-line. However, when she comes to his house for their first face-to-face, she isn't refined, isn't Ivy League, and isn't even a lawyer. Instead, it's Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), a prison escapee who's proclaiming her innocence and wants Peter to help her clear her name. But Peter wants nothing to do with her, prompting the loud and shocking Charlene to turn Peter's perfectly ordered life upside down, jeopardizing his effort to get back with his wife, and win a billion-dollar client. — Sujit R. Varma Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is an ordinary lawyer who has an on-line buddy named "Lawyer-Girl". But when Peter finally meets Lawyer-Girl, she turns out to be Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), a convict who was arrested for armed robbery, and she needs his help because she claims she didn't do it. In the meantime, Peter is meeting his new rich client, Virginia Arness (Dame Joan Plowright), on whom he tries hard not to make a bad impression, deal with his neighbor/boss' sister, go through a divorce, and handle two kids, along with the fact that Peter's best friend Howie Rottman (Eugene Levy) has fallen in love with Charlene. — Tax attorney Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) meets a woman on-line by the name of Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah). He expects to meet a blonde haired, blue eyed attorney. What he gets is an African-American woman on the lam from prison. Charlene comes to Peter to ask his help in trying to find out who was responsible for framing her for armed robbery. In the meantime, she turns his life upside down by introducing him to a side of himself that is much different from the uptight WASP he is. — Brian Washington Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) is a lawyer who is too wrapped up in his work for his family, and thus is estranged from his wife, takes up with a woman on a computer chat line that he thinks is a blonde attorney. Instead, she turns out to be escaped con Charlene Morton (Queen Latifah), who claims to be innocent. Through a chain of threats, she coerces Peter into helping prove her innocence. In doing so, she also helps him rediscover his own life. His lawyer friend Howie Rottman (Eugene Levy) becomes infatuated with Charlene. There's also uptight heiress Virginia Arness (Dame Joan Plowright) with a bulldog named William Shakespeare, who is being pursued as a client by Peter's law office. — John Sacksteder