SummaryThe poignant, often humorous journey of one man who decides to tear down his house -- and winds up rebuilding the world around him. (New Line Cinema)
Directed By:Irwin Winkler
Written By:Mark Andrus
Life as a House
Metascore
Mixed or Average
45
User score
Generally Favorable
7.1
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
25% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
63% Mixed
20 Reviews
20 Reviews
13% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
88
Kline is one of the rare major actors not afraid to look like hell. And given his character's plight, his willingness to get physically unpleasant matches the emotion he brings to the part.
63
An overwrought, ramshackle weepie that really doesn't deserve Kline's Oscar-caliber work.
58
Fortunately, Winkler has a good cast.
50
A family melodrama that becomes less authentic as it progressively takes itself more seriously.
40
Like hundreds of doomed movie protagonists before him, the hero of Life as a House doesn't have long to live. By the second reel, you may find yourself wishing his time on the planet was even shorter.
40
Doesn't trust the audience enough to keep from laying on the schmaltz.
25
Life as a House mounts a brutally insensitive attack on its audience's sensitivities.
User score
Generally Favorable
59% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
37% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
4% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Sep 23, 2014
7
This was a rather unexpected good movie. The direction and story/character development was short and I feel there is scope for this to be picked up by a better director and this could be made into something very special. Kline is such a good actor I would like to see him in more good movies.
Oct 19, 2015
6
A heartfelt, yet ultimately uninspired drama that acts as a kind of dime-store "American Beauty" - a semi-relatable, passably-written tale about life, death, and what it means to be a father.
