Cast carries Shankman’s new comedy

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In theaters

BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, directed by Adam Shankman, written by Jason Filardi, 105 minutes, PG-13.

The new Adam Shankman comedy, “Bringing Down the House,” stars Queen Latifah as the wrecking ball, always a good bet these days, particularly since she knocked out pretty much everyone who saw her in her Academy Award-nominated performance as Matron Mama Morton in “Chicago.”

This time out, Latifah is Charlene Morton – no relation to Mama – a salty broad on the wrong side of the law trying to clear her name in a muddy robbery rap.

As produced by Latifah from a script by Jason Filardi, the film won’t duplicate “Chicago’s” critical success, but then it’s not meant to. It’s a different movie, a funny screwball comedy peppered with some hilarious moments whose success rides almost exclusively on the weight of its cast, all of whom make this otherwise formulaic tale seem far more witty than it would have been without them in it.

In the film, Steve Martin is Peter Sanderson, a recently divorced Los Angeles tax attorney cruising Internet chat rooms in an effort to find new love.

His ex-wife (Jean Smart) and kids would love it if he came home, but Peter has another agenda. He’s just met Charlene, a woman who, if he can believe the photo she sent, seems to be just what he’s seeking – a blonde, Ivy-educated sexpot with the heart and soul of a poet. In short order, they set a date to meet and – surprise, surprise – the Charlene who appears on Peter’s doorstep is no natural blond.

What she is is a hip-hop cross between Pearl Bailey and Nell Carter, a recently escaped convict who has decided that Peter is the man who will solve all of her current legal woes. And if he doesn’t? Too bad. Charlene has the kind of moxie it takes to destroy Peter’s life – and also enough black soul to shake up and loosen his repressed, inner-white child.

For some, that’s where “Bringing Down the House” might hit a snag – almost exclusively, the movie uses racial stereotypes, both white and black, to fuel its comedy. There will be those who will take offense at Latifah appearing as a black maid shucking grits to a group of white folk just as there will be those who won’t smile when Joan Plowright, as a racist billionaire, breaks into her lofty version of an aberrant slave spiritual.

What they’ll be missing is the bigger picture. Everyone here is playing the race card, using it to wink broadly at those stereotypes while fiercely skewering them and exposing them for their absurdity.

Borrowing from a wealth of other movies, from “You’ve Got Mail” and “Housesitter” to “Jungle Fever” and “Bulworth” – a comedy that also played the race card and scored an Academy Award nomination in the process – “Bringing Down the House” culls most of its big laughs from the Queen herself, but also from Eugene Levy as her jive-talking suitor and Betty White as the wealthy racist next door.

Grade: B

On video and DVD

SWIMFAN, directed by John Polson, written by Charles Bohl and Phillip Schneider, 85 minutes, PG-13.

John Polson’s “Swimfan” stars Jesse Bradford as Ben Cronin, a high school swimming champ whose checkered past involves all sorts of extracurricular activities, such as rampant drug use and theft, several run-ins with the law and some downtime in the pokey.

Happily, all of that unpleasantness seems to be behind him. Now, Ben’s life is centered around winning a swimming scholarship to Stanford, working part time at the hospital where his mother works as a nurse, studying hard to get good grades and spending quality time with his girlfriend, Amy (Shiri Appleby), who’s the love of Ben’s young life and the reason he’s kept himself out of trouble for so long.

Unfortunately for Ben, the new town tramp, Madison Bell (Erika Christensen), also has her eyes set on him – not to mention her claws.

With a face like a cherub, the cold-blooded gaze of an anaconda and a cloud of blond curls that could conceal a machete, Madison proves herself a force to be reckoned with after she seduces Ben in the school pool, demands a place in his life and then sets out to destroy it and him when she doesn’t get what she wants.

What ensues is so pointedly modeled after “Fatal Attraction’s” crowd-pleasing formula, it’s sometimes difficult to know whether to admire “Swimfan” for being such a tidy little mimic that admittedly has its moments or to hate it for its utter lack of ingenuity and creativity.

The film was co-produced by Michael Douglas’ production company, Further Films, which accounts for the many parallels between the two movies, most notable of which is its waterlogged ending, an absurd, over-the-top rush that could easily give Adrien Lyne’s own ending a run for its money.

Grade: C

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays and Thursdays on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6, and are archived on RottenTomatoes.com. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.

The Video-DVD Corner

Renting a video or a DVD? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores.

About a Boy ? A-

The Banger Sisters ? B

Barbershop ? B+

Blood Work ? B-

Blue Crush ? B+

The Bourne Identity ? B+

Brown Sugar ? C+

City by the Sea ? C

8 Women ? B

Feardotcom ? F

Formula 51 ? F

The Four Feathers ? C

Full Frontal ? D

The Good Girl ? A-

Half Past Dead ? F

Ice Age ? B

Igby Goes Down ? A

Insomnia ? A

I Spy ? C-

Jason X ? Bomb

Knockaround Guys ? D

Lilo & Stitch ? B+

Lovely and Amazing ? A

The Master of Disguise ? F

Men in Black II ? C-

Minority Report ? A-

Moonlight Mile ? B

My Big Fat Greek Wedding ? A-

One Hour Photo ? A-

Possession ? B

Reign of Fire ? C+

The Ring ? C

The Road to Perdition ? A-

Serving Sara ? D

Simone ? B

Signs ? B-

Spider-Man ? A-

Spy Kids 2 ? B+

Stuart Little 2 ? A-

Sweet Home Alabama ? B-

Swept Away ? D-

Swimfan ? C

The Tuxedo ? C-

Unfaithful ? B-

White Oleander ? B+

XXX ? B