Life as a House (2001)

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

When I watch this movie, it recalled many past scenes for my own - with my dying father on the hospital bed; my dying brother strolling along in a park and many other sweet and bitter things. Everything is not without a cause. Thanks for having made such a good movie which should be a classic in its own right. Should recommend to everyone to watch at least once in their lifetime, so that they would regret, revisit and rewrite something for not missing a life hard-earned. Sam is magnificent besides being extraordinarily handsome and youthful. Kevin Kline (George) could act even with his eyes. A bit odd is the come and go of Peter and would have been better and more clear if he went to see Sam in hospital. Robin's love for George and Peter is ambiguous, especially when she knew that George is terminally ill. Does she regret her earlier decision to return to George or is she worrying about her future? Anyway, a good movie with very good actors and actresses and beautiful scenery and setting.

Life is short. That's what we hear for a long time until we really realize that it was after all. When time runs out maybe everything else seems a waste of time except building up quality relationships and making up to the people you love. No one needs to die alone, with regret. Taking this theme dramatically and very close to heart, "Life as a House" represents itself in a very touching manner.When George Monroe (Kevin Kline) is diagnosed with terminal cancer and lost his 20 year old job for new technology, he decides that it's time to look back and fix some of his mistakes. The biggest is letting go of his marriage 10 years back and his son with it. Thinking of making a change and winning back the lost heart of his son he decides to bring him to his place to spend the summer vacation. The teenager Sam (Hayden Christensen) who is tough headed and crack addict with good load of piercings on his body objects the idea. George decides to take him any way and live in the garage while the old shack he lives in is demolished in the name of reconstruction. These he wishes to be the last things he does in his life, getting to know Sam and building a house for his own and give it to his son. With difficulty and lot of tolerance both of the men fit in the small garage until they find out the meaning of the father and son relationship. And George finds love and comfort at the end in the hands of his x wife whom in heart have never left at the first place. "Life as a House" is a warm drama. It flow calm yet strong while you knowing that the ending is not going to be that something to celebrate of. Seeing young Sam so hard headed and arrogant and George making room for him to fit in seems like an arduous and next to impossible task. But the story rolls out wonderfully flawless and emotionally. read more at flickshout.blogspot.com

If given one word to describe this film: Amazing. If given three words: Amazing, Amazing, Amazing.Kevin Kline, Kristin Thomas, and Hayden Christensen all give very convincing portrayals of their characters, the acting is beyond extraordinary. They make you empathize more than you'd imagine possible.Some compare it to American Beauty, but I believe both movies are in a class of their own. American Beauty was a bit darker than this film is, but either way, this is worth the watch.This film is a must-see under any circumstance! Every moment sucks you in and you're always eager for more. I was expecting an easy watch, but not such an emotionally enticing film. I know that this film will stay with me forever, it's one of those movies that you always remember, the one that doesn't have to be written down because you'll always have the title memorized.Bravo to the Director, the Writer, and all of the actors.

Screenwriter Mark Andrus attempts to write for beleaguered middle-aged adults as well as 'misunderstood' high school kids in "Life as a House", and neither group comes off especially well. Kevin Kline, a divorced and unemployed model-maker recently fired from an architectural design firm, decides to tear down his ramshackle oceanfront abode to build his dream home (perhaps not the ideal time); he also chooses this unintended respite to get reacquainted with his pierced, pill-popping teenage son, who wears eye makeup to show us he's rebellious (also to allow his stepfather to call him "queer" so we can see what an insensitive jerk the guy is). Andrus doesn't miss a beat: we also get Kristin Scott Thomas as Kline's still-loving ex-wife who harps at him exhaustively when she's not coyly flirting (she pays a visit and whispers, "I dreamed about your house last night..."). The moody, foul-mouthed son has enough problems to star in his own movie; he berates his father, too, with such dialogue as, "You can't promise me anything because you don't have anything to promise!" It's a groan-worthy soap opera accented with little bits of naughty business (like Kline urinating in his yard when his plumbing goes out) which serve no purpose except to make us snicker. It turns out the kid isn't "queer" after all once he begins trading jaded endearments with the conveniently-placed doe-eyed lass next door, and Kline gets his way with the city ordinance after taking a chainsaw to a cabinet and installing that all-important enclosure around his toilet. If only real life were so simple! * from ****