LIFE AS A HOUSE
Released: October 26, 2001
"Life As A House" is a movie that touches upon very serious matter - the discovery that you're about to leave this life and how little time you actually have left. In this case, George (played superbly by Kevin Kline) has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and decides to take custody of his pot smoking goth 'n gloom teenage son Sam (Hayden Christensen - another great performance) for the summer months to bond - and to build a dream house - fitting since George is a recently fired architect. Christensen is a star in the making and is sure to be a household name once the new "Star Wars" chapter opens in 2002 and his role of Anakin Skywalker is revealed. Kristin Scott Thomas plays the ex-wife of George. She has since found a new man and he's moved into her house with her and Sam. Anyways, the predictability factor is relatively high but does not stop the audience from enjoying a well intentioned tear jerker of a movie. Sure, it's manipulative but it's less so than other similar types of movies like "Patch Adams" that are not merely manipulative but actually emotional rapings. The rest of the cast is filled with colorful characters. Jena Malone ("Contact", "Stepmom") plays the daughter of next door neighbor Mary Steenburgen and Scott Bakula plays a friendly police officer. It's a feel good movie but it succeeds where others of this ilk do not because the acting is so damn good from everyone and the storyline cares enough about where its going not to insult the audience along the way.
124 Minutes
New Line/Warner Bros.