Life as a House (2001)

47% of critics liked it
(105 reviews)
87% of users liked it
(54,991 ratings)

Kevin Kline stars as George, a down-on-his-luck architect in this tearjerker from Irwin Winkler (At First Sight, Guilty By Suspicion). A disdainful local character who draws disapproval from the community, particularly his neighbor played by Mary Steenburgen, George sets out to change his life after… More Kevin Kline stars as George, a down-on-his-luck architect in this tearjerker from Irwin Winkler (At First Sight, Guilty By Suspicion). A disdainful local character who draws disapproval from the community, particularly his neighbor played by Mary Steenburgen, George sets out to change his life after suddenly losing his longtime job and discovering he's terminally ill (he has cancer). Attempting to reconnect with his estranged and troubled son, Sam (Hayden Christiansen), George endeavors to spend the summer they have together building his dream home by the sea. The laborious process leads to the rebuilding of dissipated relationships, the birth of new ones, and all-around healing. ~ Rachel Deahl, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 5 min.
Directed By: Irwin Winkler
Written By: Mark Andrus
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Oct 26, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Mar 26, 2002
Studio: New Line Cinema

Critic Reviews

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Gauged strictly by the gag-factor, a more honest title might be Life as a Basement Apartment with Bad Light and a Dank Smell.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
The movie gets us to feel about the characters, their relationships, and their circumstances, and that goes a long way towards allowing us to forgive the screenplays' occasional mis-steps and wrong turns.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
[Kline] works beyond the call of duty here, although the role exploits and corrupts his natural charisma while hardly taking advantage of his estimable talent.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
There's a prefab construction to Life as a House that prevents it from acquiring the emotional solidness it needs to stand out.
Steven Rosen, Denver Post
House may suffer from excessive and unnecessary ornamentation, but its foundation -- Kline's performance -- is solid and strong.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This father-son melodrama is well acted, but it's too solemn and too concerned with being inspirational
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Uneven but moving story of reconcilliation.
Judith Egerton, Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
Remember the movie Terms of Endearment, about a mother-daughter relationship, a terminal illness and a message about not taking people for granted?
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
Thank goodness there are actors capable of delivering performances better than the scripts they're given. Too bad there aren't more of them in this movie.
Josh Gilchrist, Billings Outpost (Montana)
Life as a House is no cinematic masterpiece but it stays with you.
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
...the people who assembled Life as a House imagined it as a kind of American Beauty for the slightly more-literal-minded, for those who hated or felt baffled that film will likely like and apprehend this one.

Read all 11 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Coxxie M

Everytime aging Kevin Kline glooms over the welcoming sea and remembers when his wife loved him and holding his toddler son in the sand, laughing and crying, and then that music hits for five solid minutes, i just know, like telepathically that my grandmother is watching this same… More
Everytime aging Kevin Kline glooms over the welcoming sea and remembers when his wife loved him and holding his toddler son in the sand, laughing and crying, and then that music hits for five solid minutes, i just know, like telepathically that my grandmother is watching this same movie on t.v. and crying her eyes backward into her head, except she also hears the hateful, offensive rock soundtrack and so she silently judges it while she weeps.
Cynthia S

I am a big fan of Kevin Kline, and I think that this is one of his best movies. Very moving, and very well done. Great for anyone who likes a good drama.
Red L

George is having a bad year. Divorced, alone, estranged from his loser son, behind the times, he has no motivation. Then in the same day he gets fired and finds out he has terminal cancer. What a start to a movie! I enjoy this sort of movie - as George is dying, he resolves his… More
George is having a bad year. Divorced, alone, estranged from his loser son, behind the times, he has no motivation. Then in the same day he gets fired and finds out he has terminal cancer. What a start to a movie! I enjoy this sort of movie - as George is dying, he resolves his issues with his ex-wife and son, Sam. Sam is having a tough time of it as well - needing drugs just to get by and withdrawing from the world. With the help of Alyssa, Sam helps his dad build a house and becomes less self-centred.
danny d

strange but compelling at times
Nicki M

I am truly surprised this has rated as well as it has. I really found this quite second rate. Hayden Christensen in particular is truly awful. His bratty teen is outstandingly unconvincing. Kristin Scott Thomas plays just a nothing sort of character and Jena Malone is under used… More
I am truly surprised this has rated as well as it has. I really found this quite second rate. Hayden Christensen in particular is truly awful. His bratty teen is outstandingly unconvincing. Kristin Scott Thomas plays just a nothing sort of character and Jena Malone is under used here. Very cliched film about family. Could not have been more by the numbers if it tried. By the 60 minute mark I was watching it on fast forward, I so wanted it to be over and watch something meaningful (or at least not pretending to be).
Nani V

Holy crap, great movie.
Rachel F

This is an amazing film. I absolutely loved it.
Morgan S

great movie but soooo sad! OMG kelsey sam is our EDWARD!!!!!!! haha i bet he is too old 4 the part now. if u like vampires anyone ...read TWILIGHT
Dean M

The bestest drama and emotional story I ever watched. It features all the moving, bittersweet honesty of Terms of Endearment, Field of Dreams and American Beauty.
Drew S

If you can get past Hayden Christensen being an excruciating whiny douche for an hour, then you'll find yourself with a pretty strong family-centered drama with a lot of well-written characters. We watched this in my screenwriting class, in fact, for its characters; their… More
If you can get past Hayden Christensen being an excruciating whiny douche for an hour, then you'll find yourself with a pretty strong family-centered drama with a lot of well-written characters. We watched this in my screenwriting class, in fact, for its characters; their presence in the plot and demeanors are extremely lucid and purposeful. The movie wouldn't win any awards for originality, but it's a cute one nonetheless.
Tom E

a nice introduction for the new Star Wars Hero
Leigh R

Good movie.
Mark A

A moving story of a man determined to reestablish a connection to his troubled teenage son and his ex-wife and of his determination to leave a legacy before dying. Kevin Kline does some brilliant work here as George a man who finds out he has cancer on the day he gets released from… More
A moving story of a man determined to reestablish a connection to his troubled teenage son and his ex-wife and of his determination to leave a legacy before dying. Kevin Kline does some brilliant work here as George a man who finds out he has cancer on the day he gets released from the job he has held for twenty years. Kristen Scott Thomas as the ex, Robin is equally brilliant. Her character, a frustrated mother and an ignored wife, engendered sympathy and her ambivalence over reconnecting to her ex was totally believable. But, without, the performance of Hayden Christiansen as Sam, the troubled teen, this would have been a much less gripping tale. Watching him grow up, and become ready to take his place in the world is what made this special. Jena Malone as the free-spirited girl-next-door, Alyssa, and Mary Steenburgen as Alyssa's mom were excellent in supporting roles as was the rest of the supporting cast. The scenery, on the California coast, was gorgeous. The cinematography breathtaking, and the story had one laughing one minute and weeping the next. A brilliant film that had all the right elements to make it memorable.
Dannielle A

Drama drama drama!!! This movie reminds me of what I do when I wreck havic in my sims lives because I am bored and want to shake up their world. I thought the acting in this was amazing and the storyline was very good. There were many aspects of this that were very real and pulled… More
Drama drama drama!!! This movie reminds me of what I do when I wreck havic in my sims lives because I am bored and want to shake up their world. I thought the acting in this was amazing and the storyline was very good. There were many aspects of this that were very real and pulled on your heartstrings. Especially the young teenage boy... he was painted as a realistic troubled teen. It was a good message but there were some random weird scenes that I would have left out if I were the director.
Daniel P

It gets three stars because Kevin Kline gives a superb performance and because it features rising star Jena Malone (Donnie Darko). But really, this is manipulative, terminal-illness movie-of-the-week fare. It also seems to disapprove of Hayden Christensen's character's… More
It gets three stars because Kevin Kline gives a superb performance and because it features rising star Jena Malone (Donnie Darko). But really, this is manipulative, terminal-illness movie-of-the-week fare. It also seems to disapprove of Hayden Christensen's character's desire to be individualistic, and resorts into "transforming" him into a bland everyman by movies end. Plus, not to sound PC or anything, but do I detect the whiff of homophobia around the edges? See "My Life Without Me" instead.
Jason S

Life as a House tries hard to say something and be meaningful, but really its very forgetful. Its far from horrible though.
Daisy M

Life as a house was not an easy movie to watch.It had some unbearable sad scenes. George Monroe played by Kevin Kline, has terminal cancer. He decided to make the most of his remaining time on earth,building his dream house and bond with his trouble son Sam played by Hayden… More
Life as a house was not an easy movie to watch.It had some unbearable sad scenes. George Monroe played by Kevin Kline, has terminal cancer. He decided to make the most of his remaining time on earth,building his dream house and bond with his trouble son Sam played by Hayden Christensen.This was a beautiful movie that dealt with real problems in life and the hope for changes.The directing by Irwin Winkler was just good, he did a great job. Everything about this movie was perfect and emotional. It made me laugh, cry, and appreciate life more each day.
Wu C

A very well done reworking of Kurosawa'a 'Ikiru'.
Marion R

It's not original or unpredictable, but it makes you care for the characters on screen.
Sunil J

It's hard to pull off the movie where the guy finds out he's dying and tried to improve his life. I really like this though. One of Hayden Christensen's better roles.