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by Frank Wilkins
Although based on a second-hand premise involving subject matter of questionable judgment, Bringing Down the House is saved by the unlikely chemistry of its main players. In a near-perfect example of how mediocre material can be elevated by great acting, Steve Martin and Queen Latifah reissue the same racial stereotypes and cultural insults that we've seen in movies before; but their extremely likable performances along with those of the supporting cast of Betty White, Eugene Levy and Joan Plowright make Bringing Down the House a completely entertaining watch.

Pete Sanderson (Steve Martin), a gray-haired and divorced tax attorney, describes himself to his chat room love interest as "light haired". Charlene (Queen Latifah) e-mails a photo of herself to Peter failing to mention that she is not the attractive blonde in the foreground, but the lady being handcuffed in the background. They set up a meeting at Peter's house. Once Peter discovers her sham, the fun and games begin! Queen Latifah pours on the charm...and the sass…and the energy...and the versatility. Steve Martin revisits his memorable rhythmically challenged shenanigans of The Jerk (1979) and the wild-and-crazy gyrations of his SNL character.

Of course Peter can't get rid of Charlene, and of course Charlene has a reason for contacting Peter. Turns out that Charlene is an escaped bank robber needing Peter's help to clear her name and will stop at nothing until he agrees to help.

Predictably, Charlene's charm begins to win Peter over and he finally agrees to take on her case. Simultaneously, his children begin to bond with Charlene. From this moment on the plot takes a secondary role as a vehicle with the sole purpose of presenting humorous situations for our characters to interact.

Although the up-tight white character and the jive-talking black character routine is not a unique one, Martin and Latifah seem to milk a bit more mileage out of it with the help of the movie's various sidekicks. Eugene Levy is Howie, Peter's "white-homey" accountant friend who reprises his hilariously deadpan role as Jim's dad in American Pie (1999). He doesn't get nearly enough screen time though as he "gets his freak on" for Charlene.

Joan Plowright and Betty White turn in uncomfortably funny performances as they play a pair of racist biddies that pour on the racial insults. However their stereotypical comments play perfectly to set up the comic reactions of Queen Latifah.

Sly and subtle are not appropriate descriptors for the styles of director Adam Shankman and screenwriter Jason Filardi in Bringing Down the House. The action is fast-paced, the stereotypes are raw, the jokes are in-your-face and while they deserve their credit, I couldn't help feeling Shankman and Filardi got a little lucky and captured lightning in a bottle with the way this thing turned out. I've seen better scripts fail but Bringing Down the House works for one reason and one reason only – the acting performances of the film's prominent characters. I can only imagine what could have come from a livelier script.

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