Life as a House

Kline is competent, the script however is a bit tear jerky, but the good news is Christensen doesn't single handedly destroy it with his very presence.

as metaphorical as the title suggest; a bit narrow in scope, but still worth seeing

Life as a House is essentially a well-acted Lifetime movie. The plot is saccharine; but watching it for the first time in 2019, the lack of social commentary or political expression is oddly refreshing. The cinematography is dated, and the third act does drag a little, but it’s an enjoyable film overall. Kline and Malone are great. Christensen shows that his SW:AotC performance was actually mildly subdued. Silly and sweet.

Fairly sappy and melodramatic, tug at your heartstrings kind of stuff. The bad news is that its obvious in its attempts for tears, the good news is that I can see it working for a lot of people. Kevin Kline is good, and Hayden Christensen is laughably bad, but mainly due to his 'edgy, troubled' character. It's incredibly ordinary in that lifetime movie kind of way, but it's well done for what it is. Expect a lot of plot threads to go nowhere.

Superficial, borderline mawkish family drama rescued by fine performances all round, and excellent, sturdy work from Kline. It's a shame the screenplay consistently lets its performers down, by going for the dramatically obvious and simplistic at every turn; this becomes a serious problem in the final third when credibility and plausability are thrown out the window. Kline's mysterious ailment which is too severe for treatment, but otherwise keeps him in pretty fine fettle is also a problem.

Quite possibly Hayden Christiansen's best role.

This is one of those movies that, when I was watching I simply adored, but is easily forgotten afterward.

Hayden Christensen (who went on to destroy the Star Wars franchise with his D-movie acting skillz) opens the show here with some autoerotic asphyxiation . Then this cynical copycatting of American Beauty just gets worse and worse. If the title metaphor is accurate, then this "house" is a Burger King on stilts.

touching...........

An emotional and well-made film, with a very strong lead performance from Kevin Kline.

A total wish-fulfillment fantasy for older guys. Kevin Kline throws a temper tantrum at his job and we're supposed to cheer... and he wins back his babe-ular ex from a rich guy... and he magically reforms his terminally nihilistic son... etc., etc., etc. It's supposed to be "life affirming", but there's no shortage of urine jokes. If the cast wasn't so good (including proof that Hayden Christensen *can* act if you push him hard enough), this would be one of the worst movies of the 00's

Firedsotrashesshitlol+stepmomgirlsoattractive+shekeepsshoweringwithhimlol+kissedhimandhisdadlol+gavehousetogirlwhoserentshisgpakilleddrunkdriving

The rating is almost for Kevin Kline alone as he's practically the only solid foundation to this movie, which saves it from total ruin. However, the rest of it is put together and acted out in a pretty shonky way.

This is a different kind of melodrama; there is a certain emotion it evokes that sets it apart from other similar movies. Kevin Kline is great as always and, even though he tends to overact, Hayden Christensen pulls together some nice scenes.

Everything about director Irwin Winkler's film, Life as a House, can be described as stunning. Between the gorgeous shots of the house overlooking the water where much of the action takes place, the brilliant performances of all the actors involved and Mark Andrus' beautiful story and writing style, every aspect of the film is completely captivating.

It's like "A Walk to Remember" with an old guy, but it's less of a chick flick. It's one of the best I've seen in a long long time.

Just Meh. Tone4.0

Ordinary drama, it is not so bad but just ordinary film, nothing more...

Too many clichés...

A feel-gooey movie, deftly photographed (by Vilmos Zsigmond) but brutally, maulingly manipulative.

Very clearly trying to follow a formula for success based on American Beauty, but a poor poor substitute.

Entertaining story about a terminally ill man who wants to build the house and reconnect with his out of control son. Kevin Kline and Kristen Scott Thomas are great. Jena Malone is beautiful. Hayden Christensen just adequate. Why is it, Mary Streenburgen keeps getting roles as the older woman having an affair with a teenager? The story was tender but some of the gritty additions were unnecessary. Some pacing issues. Slow but good music. Still I liked it.

It's a made-for-tv movie with cursing.

Powerful.

Hayden Christensen might suck a dick in this movie, but not as many dicks as in Episode 2 and 3.

Hayden Christensen has so much potential but Hollywood decided to stop showing him on screen