Building a house becomes a family affair, consuming a family's life. At least, that's what the movie "Life as a House" tries to prove.

George Monroe (Kevin Kline) learns that he should have cared about many things, like life and his family, before it was too late. He learns that he has a terminal cancer and only has a few months to live.

That's his turning point in life. He decides to repair the relationship with his estranged son, build that dream house he always wanted and be remembered as a better person, better than he remembers his father.

His son Sam (Hayden Christensen) is a sort of goth/punk 16-year-old who lives with his mother, Robin Kimball (Kristin Scott Thomas) and her new family but acts like he resents them all. Robin wonders whether this is a teenage phase or whether Sam really hates them. It takes the intervention by George — in the form of forcing him to spend his summer living in the garage and building the house — to find the answer to Robin's question.

Sam would rather fight his father tooth and nail than stay with him; going so far as to call the building inspector because of their living conditions. It takes Sam a while to warm up to the situation and help build the house. Actually, it takes the flushing of a large amount of drugs down the toilet by his father and a bribe before the warming up process begins. He's also found that his next door neighbor, Alyssa Beck (Jena Malone), is quite the piece of eye candy.

The dream house build becomes family time when Robin starts coming around daily with her kids and begins to rekindle her relationship with George.

The problems arise when George finally lets everyone know what began his quest. And one of George's neighbors is out to stop him from finishing what he began.

The movie, which centers on relationship reparation and Sam's maturation is moving, funny and also tragic.

The future Darth Vader in the Star Wars series, Christensen starts off the movie slowly with what seems to be unsure acting ability as the sullen teenager with dark blue hair and piercings galore. However, Sam's character begins to evolve, as does Christensen's.

Kline puts a heart and soul into George. He makes his situation, the fact that he's dying but won't go down without a fight, and the character believable through relationships and the way he delivers lines.

Each relationship and character grows because of the character's dedication to building the house. As Sam says, "everything happens for a reason" and the twists and turns in the plot make "Life as a House" a movie everyone can take something away from.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 7 2005.