Life as a House
Life as a House
R | 26 October 2001 (USA)
Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream thousands of hit movies and TV shows

Start 30-day Free Trial
Life as a House Trailers View All

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

Reviews
Actuakers

One of my all time favorites.

Leoni Haney

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

View More
Ezmae Chang

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

View More
Payno

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

View More
coolanddark

Great movie, very emotional, well written and acted. Don't tell anybody but I cried thru the whole movie.

View More
dallasryan

I have to say, this is a very weird movie lol. No joke to that. This is really a different kind of movie. Usually, you only get comedies that make references to all sorts of other movies, but this is probably one of the few drama pieces that makes a lot of references all over the place. You have some of the movie Valley Girl going on, You got some of the Hallmark Channels stuff going on(except the acting is good here),you have some Risky Business stuff going on, some Jerry Maguire references, then an American Beauty/Midnight Express reference, I mean all kinds of movies in this one little movie. This movie is insane, it's a big dramatic soap opera and in some weird, prolific way, it works! Hayden Christensen is terrific in this film, he's one of these actors where if he really gets and understands the material, he can be better than anyone, but if he doesn't really get the material then watch out. Although you do have to show him a little bit of mercy for the Star Wars ones, those were written so poorly that even Natalie Portman wasn't all that great either, and she's usually terrific in everything she's in.But Christensen really should have been nominated for an academy award for this movie because really he steals the movie and it's really only because of him and Kevin Kline's performance that this movie swims and doesn't sink. Honestly, if it's not for the phenomenal performances of Hayden Christensen and Kevin Kline, this movie really isn't that good at all then, but these two actors truly save this movie and make it something worthwhile to watch at least. I think I was so blown away by this movie because I think most of us as movie watchers, are so use to the traditional format of a movie, how it's written from beginning to end, and how it comes across to us on screen from beginning to end. But this movie is all over the place. It doesn't stick to anything traditional about movie writing or directing at all. And it's not a great or perfect movie by an means, but I give it props for having the guts to make an attempt for making a movie completely out of the norm and against the usual, and traditional format. Really if you think about it, life is crazy and so much is always going on. So this movie's format is correct in a sense, that life is really a big dramatic soap opera(maybe not always to the extremes as this movie, but nonetheless it is). So much is always going on in one's life and then so much is going on in their neighbors life and in their neighbors life, and it's good, bad and all kinds crazy stuff going on. So this movie shouldn't really surprise us, but it probably will surprise you because we're so use to being force fed a movie that goes by the Hollywood Format of how a movie should play out(And I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, but I am pointing that out). Life as a House, not the greatest movie, but definitely worth a look.

View More
tolerford-1

Though Kline and Scott-Thomas are the leads and show their chops that made them stars, Christensen shines so brilliantly that his talent is breath-taking. Each role is so well-portrayed that you're completely comfortable understanding the plot. The movie is challenging, thought-provoking, and intensely human, well-worth the attention of men who may presume that it's a chick flick. The action and adventure is in the challenge to deal with the plot. It's gut-honest, everyday life, involving situations we all deal with: intent, marital disharmony, second-guessing decisions we made, seeing the light, and desperate substitutes we use to deflect pain.

View More
mindcat

I enjoyed this flick and felt it over all met its mark. Life is to be lived because you never know when those who you love may be having to exit it.I hated the crummy and cheap women who aggressively pursued the teen age boys. The old woman should be ashamed of herself and maybe arrested? The teenage daughter attempted to shower and get her hands into the young co-star's pants from the get go? Are women that easy? I guess things have changed since I was young. The pill has made women go wild.But, other than these cheese side plots, I felt the transformations many of the principle characters went through was inspirational.

View More
Similar Movies to Life as a House