While watching Life as a House, I was quickly reminded of the brilliant American Beauty. Both of these pictures are essentially about dysfunctional suburbanites and how they are reawakened by an unexpected event.

In Life as a House, Kevin Kline plays a reclusive architect who is determined to win back the love of his messed up son (Hayden Christensen soon to be seen as Anakin Skywalker in Episode 2). Most of his life, Kline has had aspirations of building a dream house. Rather than just thinking about it, he decides to actually get it done. He enlists the help of his unwilling and drug addicted son in hopes that they might bond. Before long, he also finds himself reconnecting with his ex-wife (Kristen Scott Thomas) who seems to be unhappy in her second marriage. Of course, there is a driving force behind Kline's reawakening but to learn of that, you'll have to see the movie.

Life as a House is no American Beauty. It has stretches of dialogue that are far too melodramatic and even a bit processed. Still, there is no denying that this movie has plenty of powerful moments and some truly compelling performances. Director Irwin Winkler (Guilty by Suspicion) is fantastic with his cast. This movie is also extremely well shot. And while much of the picture is very predictable, there are two twists in Life as a House that I didn't see coming. One of them was hilarious, while the other was quite touching.

Obviously, the most noteworthy aspect of Life as a House are the lead performances. Kline has always been a terrific actor and he remains so here. His connection to his son feels real and honest, while his physical performance is equally effective. Christensen is also fantastic as a typical teenager dealing with a world of problems. This easily could have been a one dimensional character, but Christensen adds depth and texture to this complicated part. The rest of the cast is strong as well, particularly Jena Malone who plays Christensen's love interest.

Much of Life as a House could have played like a really bad disease movie of the week. Thankfully, the performances are so strong that most of the movie rings with sincerity, allowing the audience to forgive it for it's shortcomings. Kline and Christensen were enough to win me over. Because of them, this new house is worth a look.