Bringing Down the House
“Everything he needed to know about life, she learned in prison.”
Uptight lawyer Peter Sanderson wants to dive back into dating after his divorce and has a hard time meeting the right women. He tries online dating and lucks out when he starts chatting with a fellow lawyer. The two agree to meet in the flesh, but the woman he meets — an escaped African-American convict named Charlene — is not what he expected. Peter is freaked out, but Charlene tries to convince him to take her case and prove her innocence. Along the way, she wreaks havoc on his middle-class life as he gets a lesson in learning to lighten up.
Where to watch
fuboTV
Stream
The Roku Channel
Free with ads
FXNow
Free
Amazon Video
Rent · Buy
Apple TV Store
Rent · Buy
Google Play Movies
Rent · Buy
Your rating
Your review
Cast
58 people
Steve Martin
Peter Sanderson
Known for
Only Murders in the Building
Cheaper by the Dozen
Queen Latifah
Charlene Morton
Known for
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Hustle
Eugene Levy
Howie Rottman
Known for
Finding Dory
Schitt's Creek
Joan Plowright
Mrs. Virginia Arness
Known for
101 Dalmatians
Dennis the Menace
Jean Smart
Kate Sanderson
Known for
Mare of Easttown
Watchmen
Kimberly J. Brown
Sarah Sanderson
Known for
Rose Red
Halloweentown
Angus T. Jones
Georgey Sanderson
Known for
Two and a Half Men
George of the Jungle 2
Missi Pyle
Ashley
Known for
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Gone Girl
Michael Rosenbaum
Todd Gendler
Known for
Smallville
Justice League
Betty White
Mrs. Kline
Known for
The Proposal
The Golden Girls
Steve Harris
Widow
Known for
The First Purge
Minority Report
Jim Haynie
Ed Tobias
Known for
The Bridges of Madison County
The Stand
Adam Shankman Director · Jason Filardi Screenplay Lalo Schifrin Composer
Worldwide gross $133M · Budget $20M · United States release March 7, 2003
Box office
Budget
$20,000,000
Worldwide gross
$132,700,000
Gross vs. budget
6.6×
Production
Touchstone Pictures
Production · Studio
Hyde Park Entertainment
Production
Mandeville Films
Production
Hyde Park Films
Production
United States
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · French
Release dates
United States · March 7, 2003
Theatrical
Australia
May 30, 2003 · Theatrical
Austria
July 17, 2003 · Digital
Czechia
May 8, 2003 · Theatrical
France
August 6, 2003 · Theatrical
Germany
July 16, 2003 · Theatrical
Greece
June 27, 2003 · Theatrical
Hungary
June 5, 2003 · Digital
Ireland
May 30, 2003 · Digital
Japan
October 18, 2003 · Digital
New Zealand
February 27, 2015 · Digital
Poland
June 20, 2003 · Digital
Slovakia
July 24, 2003 · Theatrical · English
January 14, 2012 · TV · Slovak · JOJ
Switzerland
July 30, 2003 · Digital
United Kingdom
March 30, 2003 · Theatrical
More from Adam Shankman
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked Bringing Down the House
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.