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Laramie Movie Scope:
Life as a House

Tear jerkers and other jerks

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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December 8, 2001 -- "Life as a House" is a movie which contains elements of a sentimental love story, high drama, a tragedy and some low comedy. While it is both funny and tragic, the two themes don't always work together.

Kevin Kline of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" stars as George, an architect who loses his job and learns he has cancer on the same day. Up until that point, George had pretty much wasted his life in a job he hated and in a series of failed personal relationships. Since he only has a short time left to live, he decides he had better start living for a change, instead of just existing. He decides to build a house and try to patch things up with his ex-wife, Robin (Kristin Scott Thomas of "The Horse Whisperer") and 16-year-old son, Sam (Hayden Christensen of "The Virgin Suicides"). In the old Hollywood tradition of "Dark Victory," George stops being a schnook and becomes noble.

Robin seems to drifting along in a bit of a fog, herself, married to second husband Peter (Jamey Sheridan of "Cradle Will Rock"), a fellow with all the charisma of milk toast. Sam is the son from hell with various metal things stuck in his body, a bad drug habit, worse makeup and a budding career as a male prostitute. George takes custody of Sam for the summer to help him tear down an old house and build a new timber frame home overlooking the ocean (the location for the film was the very scenic Palos Verdes Peninsula in California).

Sam hates this whole project, of course and tries to get out of doing the work. The only thing that keeps him from running away is the young nymph next door, Alyssa (Jena Malone of "For Love of the Game"), who doesn't mind taking showers with him. Alyssa has a boyfriend, Josh, but he's an even bigger jerk than Sam. Alyssa even has a sort of romantic interest in George. The movie seems to imply that cancer is some kind of romantic turn on. Nice thought. It turns out that Alyssa's mother Coleen (Mary Steenburgen of "Nixon"), another hot-to-trot babe, is an old flame of George's too. It is a small neighborhood, and it keeps getting smaller. Ribald comedy featuring Coleen, Alyssa and Josh is pretty tasteless at times and seems out of character with the more noble portions of the movie.

The story, by Mark Andrus ("As Good as it Gets"), follows a predictable path, with a few minor variations. It is along the lines of dying jock movies like "Bang the Drum Slowly" and "Brian's Song." Kevin Kline is wonderful as George. He makes the film worth watching all by himself. He is ably supported by Kristin Scott Thomas, Hayden Christensen and Jena Malone. I have to admit that the idea of life as a house doesn't make much sense to me, but the idea of "constructing a life" works to a degree. The idea of working outdoors and learning practical skills as a kind of therapy is appealing, but you'll learn more about carpentry by watching a real carpenter, Harrison Ford, in "Witness." Director Irwin Winkler ("At First Sight") does a good job of bringing the story to film. This film rates a C+.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 2001 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)