Ian Then Some...Life As A House

Click here to see Vertigo's awesome screen caps of Ian's scenes from the Bravo Show "The Making of Life as a House."

Life as a House made it's world premiere on September 9th at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was also screened at the Boston Film Festival on September 12th and premiered in Hollywood on October 24, 2001. The movie opened in limited US cities on October 26th and opened nationwide on November 9, 2001. LaaH was released on video and DVD on March 26, 2002.

I went to the Boston Film Festival today and saw Life As A House (three times, actually). Wow! I was grinning like an idiot just seeing Ian's name in the opening credits. It seemed like I had waited forever for this movie to come out and it was so cool to finally be sitting there, seeing his name on screen. The movie was very good. It's a serious movie, but with some great lines. I laughed so much I was annoying the serious-business-guy type that was sitting near me and Ian was absolutely terrific. His character is Josh...a slick little bastard who thinks he's got it ALL figured out. He's into drugs, pimping and screwing his girlfriend's mother.

I can't give you screen caps, but I did make notes between screenings and here's a quick run down of Ian's scenes.

George - the main character played by Kevin Kline. He loses his job and finds out he has terminal cancer...all pretty much in the same day. He decides to take his son for the summer and build the house he's wanted to build for 20 years.

Sam - George's son played by Hayden Christensen. He smokes, does drugs and masturbates a lot, he's got his chin pierced and multiple earrings in both ears. His black hair has a bright blue streak and he's prone to black clothing and heavy black eye makeup. This is one 16 year old who is not happy with himself at all and even less thrilled when his "weekends only" father decides to take him for the summer and wants to build a house together.

Josh - I can't really call Ian's character a "friend" of Sam's, but they obviously know each other and Josh wants Sam to "work" for him. Work meaning get into cars with men who pay for sex with young boys.

Alyssa - played by Jena Malone. She and her mom live next door to George. Alyssa is supposedly Josh's girl at the beginning of the movie, but she and Sam end up together.

Coleen - played by Mary Steenburgen. Alyssa's mom and George's next door neighbor. She and George dated after her divorce.

When we first see Josh at the beginning of the movie, it's the high school parking lot and he comes zipping in - in a sharp, little, red Porsche convertible - with a car load of friends and promptly approaches Sam. He's totally dressing the part, too. Wearing a V-necked shirt, silver jewelry and a major smirk...he's cocky, arrogant and gorgeous. He asks Sam to consider the job offer (they've obviously had this conversation before) and reminds him that it's "2 hours a week, $300 bucks cash, all summer long." Sam is not interested.

George and Sam are using the garage as a living space while they build the new house and there is no shower, so Alyssa offers the use of theirs. While Sam is showering...Josh comes in and says "bro, I need you to work for me tonight." Sam opens the shower door and wants to know how he got in since the door was locked. Josh waves a pocket knife in the hand that isn't holding a joint. Eventually the lure of pot leads Sam to agree to work for Josh.

As the shiny red Porsche pulls into a park filled with parked cars, Josh and Sam are both smoking and Sam is having second thoughts. Josh gives him a pep talk (things like "he already knows what you can't do" and "tell him not to look at you or something") and they discuss Alyssa before Josh hands Sam a cell phone and tells him that if it rings...RUN. He also gives him a rather large bag of pot to seal the deal. Sam gets out and heads for his trick, while Josh cranks up the music, kicks back and relaxes with his weed. He gets too comfortable though, because he doesn't notice the cop that pulls up behind him. Josh hits the call button on the phone and flicks the joint out the passenger window, but it's too late.

We learn later through Alyssa that Josh got arrested and his parents took away the car. He now has to ride his bicycle all summer long. In fact, we see him ride up to Alyssa's house - only she's not home. Her mom invites him to come in and wait. He's polite enough on the front porch, but as soon as they are inside and face to face - he's just oozing with sexual cockiness and looking pretty hot in white pants and a tight blue shirt. She offers him a drink and he asks for a beer (remember, he's 16 here). Next time we see them they are slamming away under the covers as he moans, "Oh, Mrs. Beck!"

We get another close up of them in bed with Josh on the bottom this time (they are under the covers though) when the security alarm starts blaring and Alyssa yells, "Mom?" Ooops...busted. Coleen jumps out of bed naked and starts yelling at him to get dressed as she grabs her clothes and runs into the bathroom. We see Josh in his unbuttoned white pants, struggling to get that tight blue shirt back on (think of those amazing abs). By the time Alyssa gets to her mother's room, both Coleen and Josh are in the bathroom and he is pretending to fix the toilet by plunging it furiously. Both are flustered, look guilty as hell and we can see the rumpled, unmade bed in the background. When Alyssa asks what's going on, Mom replies, "I put him to work." [Yeah, right...I'd like to put him to work!]

The next day Josh is on his bike again, pedaling furiously, wearing the mega-grin of a guy who knows he's about to get laid. He stops short of Coleen and Alyssa's house and uses his cell phone (by the way, he's wearing black pants and a red shirt this time, still looking beyond hot) to call Coleen and let her know that he doesn't see Alyssa and to come to the door. Since we've just seen her modeling sexy black underwear in the mirror, it's no surprise when she tells him to "just come up". Honey, that boy is already up! He's almost there when Alyssa literally pops up and surprises the hell out of him. He has to cover quickly and Alyssa ends up getting him to help out with the work at George's. He's not happy and gazes longingly at Coleen's front door.

When Alyssa mentions that George is paying $10 an hour to help out, Sam can't resist the chance to throw the "$300 cash for 2 hours" thing back in Josh's face. He's not amused, but can't get out of helping, either. Not without telling Alyssa that her mother is waiting for him in bed, anyway.

Josh is helping Sam and Alyssa on the roof of the house when a cell phone rings. He starts to panic. Both Josh and the electrician have their phones on the same table, but Josh's is red and the electrician's is black. George is closest to the table and is asked by the electrician to answer the phone. Josh says to just let his keep ringing. George doesn't know which belong to which, but the red phone is the one ringing. Josh is really panicking on the roof now and quickly forgetting that he is on a roof! When Coleen starts talking without waiting to see who's on the other end of the phone, he knows he's in trouble. When she asks "why aren't you in my bed, yet" and George figures out it's Coleen on the phone, Josh loses it. Yep, he falls. Off the roof and smashes into the table. Like your typical guy (especially one with sex in the immediate future), he keeps insisting he's fine and to help him stand up. We learn as the ambulance pulls away that he has a broken leg, 2 broken fingers, a broken rib and a mild concussion.

As the ending credits roll, his name is there again. It's the 8th one and I can't help but smile. It was a great movie and the best part...this was only the first screening. I get to see it two more times before I have to make the 4 hour drive back home.

Now that the DVD is out, if you haven't already seen the movie, you can check out all of Ian's scene here. Screen caps are once again courtesy of Vertigo.

If you're like me and have an itchy trigger finger on the TV remote. Here is some handy information:

"I'm not star-struck but you can really admire someone for what they have done. Kevin is incredible. I respect him so much for what he knows and what he gives off. He is a very seasoned, talented actor." Ian also referred to making the movie as an "unforgettable learning experience."