really nice, heartwarming story.

Loved this. Slow burn comedy drama with great writing, great characters and a great story. You can't help but fall in love the characters. A real feel good story that also leaves you with a tear in your eye.

There is of course better written movies, but there is something special about this one that resonate deep withing me. Not sure what makes this movies so special to me, but it's one of those movies I can't stay away for long before I feel the need to watch it again.

Came for emo Hayden Christensen, left emotional. Great watch but have some tissues close by.

I first saw this on a transatlantic plane and fell in love with it. It's one of my top-10 movies of all time. The rebuilding-the-house metaphor for the rebuilding the relationship really works, and the varied pace of the movie adds a lot to the tension between father and son. There's a lot of subtlety in the interaction between George and Sam, with poignant and humorous moments - often seconds apart. The beautiful cinemaphotography is a perfect match for the gorgeous music of Mark Isham, which really brings it to its climax. It's intimate, it's beautiful and it's thought-provoking. I love it - and I thins it's time I watched it again.

Probably my all time favorite movie.

This movie was so beautiful! I even cried at the end! The acting from Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Hayden Christensen was great. I don't think the movie was melodramatic at all; it was a tearjerker. I loved it and definitely recommend it!

Sometimes it seems like critics learn ahead of time what a movie will be about and then poop on it solely because they knew what it would be about going into it. A movie with a plot about a kid witnessing a murder is seen as extremely predictable when that's exactly what happens, while this movie about a dad with terminal cancer is pejoratively called a "manipulative tearjerker" when it was never supposed to be anything else. Did it set a clearly defined goal and accomplish it? Yes it did. Did it reach that destination in an entertaining way, with good acting and subplots? Absolutely. Did the screenwriter accomplish the telling of the plot without embarrassingly bad dialogue? He did. Was the movie completely flawless? Of course not - there was no reason to paint the teen's entire identity as a problem that needed solved... he needed the lesson about hard work & responsibility, not a piercing removal and all that. The soundtrack could also have been better and I dislike plot conveniences like how the stepdad just happened to be a mostly-absent butthole; it would be more realistic and complex had he been a good guy who didn't deserve to be left, and it would've helped justify the lengthy running time. Still, an enjoyable viewing experience.

An amazing movie, so sad and beautiful. Hayden and Kevin kline I can't say enough about these two performances just masterful. Every scene they were in together was amazing. Both deserved Oscar nominations.

Finally saw this and was expecting a well-crafted character drama. Instead I got reminded of everything that’s wrong with Hollywood. First, we have a producer directing…danger! Irwin Winkler was able to assemble a terrific cast by pulling in favors, not by offering them a good script. I can only assume the development process went notoriously awry. The story veers wildly off-track and off-theme, and suddenly involves a mishmash of loving your neighbor scenes — daughter, mother, and exes swapping sex partners out of sheer boredom and the desperate need for some kind of plot, which is never achieved. This is a vision of domestic life that could only come from the imagination of people with way too much money and no sense of morality or personal boundaries. Did I mention that pederasty and pedophilia offer a fun little plot point? The string-heavy musical score tries desperately to conjure emotion and pathos out of the thin air and plot. By the end all we can do is follow the bouncing ball of musical montages and the do-it-yourself home building project. Someone desperately wants to be Lasse Hallström, but it ain’t gonna happen.

The cast nearly saves it but the film is too melodramatic for its own good.

Yo la vi y me parece que Hayden Christensen es EL MEJOR ACTOR CANADIENSE y esta película es buenísima y graciosa

This movie moved me more than any I have seen.

I may have fallen in love with Mary Steenbergen but i really enjoyed this film. Kevin Kline was amazing and this movie made me want to go to CA. Mary has the best ass of all times...

Divorced, recently fired and rapidly becoming estranged from his son, George makes good on his life long dream: build himself the oceanview house of his dreams! The various aspects of life, good and bad, are for us to witness. Well performed and a good story!

An unappreciated gem with realistic portrayals from it's trio of capable performers, 'Life As A House' is a sad but heartwarming story boosted by a resonant score and beautiful locale.

I loved this film, which was warm, funny and poignant all at once. The cast was outstanding, especially Hayden Christenson, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for this part, which he deserved! As usual, I differ from the critics in my opinion, and the audience score agrees with me, not them!

A promising movie with excellent perfomances from the actors

3.5/.5.0 stars - Grade: B

"Life as a House" is a sappy and melodramatic film that tries too hard to get its audiences to shed tears, but the strong performances from its cast are impressive.