Life as a House is a 2001 American drama film produced and directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Mark Andrus focuses on a man who is anxious to repair his relationship with his ex-wife and teenaged son after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. George Monroe, a fabricator of architectural models, is fired from the job he has held for twenty years when he refuses to fall into step with his co-workers and use the computer technology available to them. As he exits the building, he collapses on the pavement and is rushed to the hospital, where it is revealed he has cancer of such an... advanced stage that the doctor feels any treatment would be futile. Liberated from a job he hated and funded by his severance package, George decides the time has come to demolish the ramshackle home left to him by his father and replace it with a house more in keeping with the ambiance of his upscale neighborhood. He decides to enlist the aid of his son, angst-ridden and self-loathing Sam, a rebellious, pill-popping, glue-sniffing teenager with blue hair, makeup, and a number of piercings. Sam is alienated from his stepfather Peter and his mother Robin finds herself unable to cope.
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| Release date: | September 9, 2001 |
| Directed by: | Irwin Winkler |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 125 Minutes |
| Producer: | Irwin Winkler, Rob Cowan |
| Editor: | Julie Monroe |
| Music by: | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography: | Vilmos Zsigmond |
| Screenplay by: | Mark Andrus |
| Estimated budget: | $27,000,000 |