39
Metascore
31 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliHaving 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.
- 75Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyA high-performance low comedy, House succeeds because Martin's Peter Sanderson and Latifah's Charlene Morton each plays Henry Higgins to the other's Eliza Doolittle.
- 63New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickThe best scene centers on neither Latifah nor Martin. Rather, it's the venerable Plowright delivering an a capella rendition of the slave spiritual "Is Massa Gonna Sell Me Tomorrow?"
- 63Baltimore SunBaltimore SunA gut-busting black-and-white culture clash comedy. It's not elegantly done. Some of the acting is too broad to enjoy. It has plot problems and racial-stereotype problems.
- 50Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertHere 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.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenSome fine comedy performances bolster this thinly plotted film.
- 50Miami HeraldConnie OgleMiami HeraldConnie OgleTaking a lightweight comedy such as this seriously is probably a fatal error, but there's no way around it: This House is built on a shaky foundation.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumStock farce characters and stale scenes of mayhem fill the downtime between the Martin-Latifah skirmishes.
- 40SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorWhat's offensive in Bringing Down the House is the way the jokes have been calculated not to offend.
- 30Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumEugene Levy is the only actor who emerges relatively unscathed in such a fetid climate; as for Joan Plowright, I hope she took home a healthy check.