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I will admit that I am jaded, and instinctively recoil at the kind of forced sentimentality that Life As A House shamelessly hawks. Yet I always get suckered in at the last minute by the easy charms of tearjerkers such as this, hence this review will be a schizophrenic one. I'll gladly rip apart the film's forced pathos, yet freely admit to getting misty-eyed at the predictable denouncement. The script by Mark Andrus is one shaky foundation, and if Irwin Winkler's direction is solid but workmanlike, his bland staging can't compensate for the inert material. Andrus also makes some dubious choices in terms of his analogies, and the film often comes off as smarmy and enamored with its own self-proclaimed moral superiority. While the central concept of "life as a house" is an endearing one because of its obviousness, its leering gaze on the teenage sexual shenanigans is creepy, and the homophobic subtext offensive.

With such a creaky, worn-out concept, it is up to the performances to redeem the material. Losing a reported 25-plus pounds to play the role, Kevin Kline portrays George with a hollowed-out, affecting intensity that completely centers the film and saves it from sliding into a total morass of mawkishness. The supporting cast is also more than able, with star-in-waiting Hayden Christensen making a strong impression as the disaffected Sam, Kristin Scott-Thomas dependable as ever as George's ex-wife, and fine if minor character turns by Scott Bakula, Sam Robards and Mary Steenburgen as George's horny neighbor.

Cursed with a truly terrible title, Life As A House is undoubtedly one of those films you'll either love or hate. It's hard to argue with its technical merits; it's impressively mounted, impeccably photographed and very well acted. But like most new-agey comfort food, it's also shamelessly manipulative and oddly perfunctory. Yet such familiarity may be its saving grace, because relentless predictability can be reassuring, a movie version of a well-worn shoe, or that favorite book you've read a half dozen times but return to again and again. Life As A Cliche, indeed.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Though projected theatrically at 2.35;1, at the request of the filmmakers Life As A House has been transferred at approximately 2.0:1 for the DVD release. Unfortunately, this is not a case of a film that was shot using a process such as Super 35, where the "mattes" are simply opened up to reveal more image area at the top and bottom of the frame. Rather, comparing the transfer to the footage shown in the documentaries, which reflects the original theatrical 2.35;1 framing, the transfer has obviously been cropped at the sides. But since the film was shot by the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond, who also consulted on the transfer, I suppose it is foolish to argue?

Aspect ratio aside, this is another fine New Line transfer. Colors are warm and often glorious, with natural fleshtones and little bleeding or oversaturation. Zsigmond's frequent use of natural and low-contrast lighting requires perfect blacks, which this transfer really delivers. However, while detail is strong in the daylight scenes, Zsigmond's techniques often result in often poor shadow delineation in the darker interiors and an overall soft look. I also noticed some surprising horizontal jitter in a couple of scenes, and a few instances of compression artifacts. Edge enhancement, however, is minimal and the transfer does have a nice and three-dimensional appearance for the most part. While a strange beast due to the change in aspect ratio, this is a strong if not-quite-reference-quality transfer from New Line.

Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?

New Line has kindly included both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround tracks here, and both are subtly enveloping, effective mixes. Similar to the problem I had with New Line's Rush Hour 2 tracks, the DTS mix sounded noticeably louder at first; once I matched the levels, I still noticed subtle but distinct improvements in the DTS track.

In terms of fidelity and dynamic range, both tracks are very good, with the DTS track a bit warmer and open in the high end. This is definitely a dialogue driven movie, which its firmly anchored in the center channel with little in the way of spread-out vocal trickery. The minor score and effects are well-balanced throughout, though the harsh rock songs can sound a bit too loud and blaring in comparison. Surround use is subdued but consistent, with a few discrete effects noticeable, and more effective and transparent on the DTS track. Low end is strong but never intrusive, and just as punchy on either track. A very nice presentation that suits the film quite well, whichever track you choose.

A matrixed 2.0 Dolby Surround track is also included, along with English subtitles and English Closed Captions.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Once again New Line offers their customary assortment of supplements for this release, though aside from the commentary, I found the overall extras somewhat underwhelming...

Saving the best for last, let's begin with the two included original documentaries, Character Building: Inside Life As A House (24:00) and From The Ground Up (10:00.) Though technically these are new to the DVD, these feel just like your typical HBO First Look special or an EPK, and feature interviews conducted on the set and during the film's press junket with producer and director Irwin Winkler, producer Rob Cowan, and actors Kevin Kline, Hayden Christensen, Kristin Scott-Thomas and Jena Malone. While From The Ground Up focuses on the actual construction of the house and its use as a metaphor in the film, neither featurette really boasts that much depth, and the amount of production footage is a bit sparse. These are fine enough, but nothing groundbreaking.

Next up are four deleted scenes running 12 minutes total, and featuring optional commentary with director Irwin Winkler, producer Rob Cowan, and screenwriter Mark Andrus. For once these are actually somewhat interesting, especially the two included versions of the same scene but with different actors. And kudos to New Line for another expert presentation of deleted material, complete in anamorphic widescreen and looking just about as great as the feature itself.

In the promotional department, we have the film's original theatrical trailer in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and 5.1, and the original theatrical press kit, which features three sections of production notes on the film, the cast, and the crew, and totals about 15 text screens. No stills or filmographies are included.

Last but not least, we have probably the best supplement on the disc, the screen-specific audio commentary with Winkler, Cowan, and Andrus. It's a lot like the film itself - heartfelt, workmanlike and unaware of the overall flimsiness of the material. All three give a little bit of everything - production antecedents, the genesis of the story, casting (Winkler's observations on Christensen are particularly interesting) and the alleged spiritual themes and motifs. It is also unintentionally revealing, not only because it is more in-depth than the documentaries, but because the filmmakers sometimes hang themselves by explaining their often questionable moral imperatives. In any case, this is a worthwhile listen for fans of the film, though may be a bit dry and ultimately boring for the casual viewer.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

Though the ROM features included are not incredibly extensive, you have to give New Line credit for consistently offering an easy-to-use, custom interface and at least some ROM goodies on nearly all their releases. Here we get a very nice script-to-screen viewer with direct scene access, the film's complete theatrical website on the disc, and the customary weblinks to New Line's Hot Spot and other related sites.

Parting Thoughts