A lot of fun.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Academy-Award-Winner Kevin Kline, is, without a shed of doubt, Amongst The Finest Actors of All-Time. A Magical Actor, who in Each & Every film of his, stands out, due to his performances. In 'Life as a House', he delivers a yet another Memorable Performance, proving his caliber once again! 'Life as a House' Synopsis: 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.As a film, 'Life as a House' is emotional & well-intentioned. But the film has a few minuses, that pop-up, mainly, in the second-hour. The Screenplay Written by Mark Andrus is definitely well-done, but in the second-hour, it dips considerably. Irwin Winkler's Direction is fair. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are decent.Performance-Wise: Kline's Performance as George Monroe, is truly Memorable. He sinks his teeth into the part & performs flawlessly. Kline is truly a Magical Actor & he very rightfully deserves all the respect he's gotten over the years. Hayden Christensen is extremely sincere in his part & stands on his own, despite being cast along a Giant like Kline. Kristin Scott Thomas is impressive. Jena Malone is as usual. Mary Steenburgen is proficient. Jamey Sheridan does his bit well.On the whole, 'Life as a House' is an emotional film, with Kline delivering a yet another performance, that goes on-to prove his undeniable potential as a performer.

Life is short. That's what we hear for a long time until we really realize that it was after all. When time runs out maybe everything else seems a waste of time except building up quality relationships and making up to the people you love. No one needs to die alone, with regret. Taking this theme dramatically and very close to heart, "Life as a House" represents itself in a very touching manner.When George Monroe (Kevin Kline) is diagnosed with terminal cancer and lost his 20 year old job for new technology, he decides that it's time to look back and fix some of his mistakes. The biggest is letting go of his marriage 10 years back and his son with it. Thinking of making a change and winning back the lost heart of his son he decides to bring him to his place to spend the summer vacation. The teenager Sam (Hayden Christensen) who is tough headed and crack addict with good load of piercings on his body objects the idea. George decides to take him any way and live in the garage while the old shack he lives in is demolished in the name of reconstruction. These he wishes to be the last things he does in his life, getting to know Sam and building a house for his own and give it to his son. With difficulty and lot of tolerance both of the men fit in the small garage until they find out the meaning of the father and son relationship. And George finds love and comfort at the end in the hands of his x wife whom in heart have never left at the first place. "Life as a House" is a warm drama. It flow calm yet strong while you knowing that the ending is not going to be that something to celebrate of. Seeing young Sam so hard headed and arrogant and George making room for him to fit in seems like an arduous and next to impossible task. But the story rolls out wonderfully flawless and emotionally. read more at flickshout.blogspot.com

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.

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.