2024 Entry #59 09-05-24 “Life as a House” is a 2001 American drama film produced and directed by Irwin Winkler (“De-Lovely”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”) based on a screenplay by Mark Andrus (“As Good as it Gets”, “Otherhood”). The story focuses on a man who is anxious to repair his relationship with his ex-wife and teenage son after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
I’ve always enjoyed this movie, though its attitudes towards body jewelry annoys me as I have a labret piercing and I love it. lol The film is great though, emotionally, and it takes several unexpected turns. It’s not perfect, but it’s very good.
As for the queer content, early in the film, Hayden Christensen’s character is led into the world of sex workers by his frenemy and would-be-pimp, a seemingly straight guy played by Ian Somerhalder (“Rules of Attraction”, “Law and Order: SVU”) – who initiates an encounter between Christensen’s character and a john (played by Sam Robards from “American Beauty”, “Bounce”) – which is interrupted by the police – which becomes a key plot element later in the film. It’s pretty tenuous but it is there.