The read
Audiences rate it 18 points higher than critics do. Most of the 2,385 2000s comedy movies in this catalog score higher.
Synopsis
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.
Ratings
IMDb5.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes33%
Metacritic39/100
Audiences rate it 18 points higher than critics do.
764 audience votes
Key crew
- Lalo SchifrinOriginal Music Composer
- Adam ShankmanDirector
- Jason FilardiScreenplay
Cast
- Steve MartinPeter Sanderson
- Queen LatifahCharlene Morton
- Eugene LevyHowie Rottman
- Joan PlowrightMrs. Virginia Arness
- Jean SmartKate Sanderson
- Kimberly J. BrownSarah Sanderson
- Angus T. JonesGeorgey Sanderson
- Missi PyleAshley
- Michael RosenbaumTodd Gendler
- Betty WhiteMrs. Kline
- Steve HarrisWidow
- Jim HaynieEd Tobias
Stills
Movies like Bringing Down the House
Shows like Bringing Down the House
Themes
prisonworkaholicparent child relationshiplove at first sightex-boyfriendsupportmistaken identityprison escapelawyerfemale prisonerracist remarkracism