Bringing Down the House Critic Reviews

Having funny lines and amusing gags is only half the battle. The rest is in the delivery, and that's where the trio of Martin, Latifah, and Levy excel.Read the full review

There are certainly good laughs to be had. But the contrived script and bland direction prevent the film from ever developing a comic life of its own, leaving what fun there is seeming like the foundation to a rumpus room that's never finished. Read the full review

Here is a movie that ignores the Model Airplane Rule: First, make sure you have taken all of the pieces out of the box, then line them up in the order in which they will be needed. Bringing Down the House is glued together with one of the wings treated like a piece of tail. Read the full review

The racial angle becomes the tiresome basis of almost every joke.Read the full review

Stock farce characters and stale scenes of mayhem fill the downtime between the Martin-Latifah skirmishes.Read the full review

A movie that desperately wants her (Latifah's) hip, her edge and mostly her blackness but doesn't know what to do with the human being who comes with the package. Read the full review

There are about 15 minutes of genuine, bust-a-gut comedy in Bringing Down the House, and, surprisingly, they belong to Steve Martin, who hasn't been funny on film in years.Read the full review

Feels like a bad sitcom. Read the full review

Yet another comedy that suggests someone should take Martin aside and remind him that he can do better. Read the full review