DALLAS, Aug 8, 2003/ FW/ --- Steve Martin and Queen Latifah can bring a lot of laughs, though the material might be limited, as exemplified in Bringing Down The House.

Great comedians in their own right, Steve Martin and Queen Latifah together was a stroke of genius. And yes, they did bring down the house with laughter.

Problem is, the laughter comes from their great performance and not from a great script. Done by lesser talents, this movie would have tanked.

The movie begins in a chat room. It was an online romance between Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin), a divorced tax attorney and Charlene, an escaped convict who wanted to reopen her case.

Peter who was in the middle of closing a multi-billion dollar deal with an ultra-conservative heiress literally had to cajole Charlene to cooperate lest she wreck that relationship with the client.

The supporting cast - Betty White, Joan Plowright and Eugene Levy added to the hilarity of the film, though some of White's and Plowright's antics have been used somewhere else before.

Kudos goes to Eugene Levy (of American Pie fame) for his great performance. He almost stole the show with his love for the 'Coco Goddess' Charlene.

Another scene stealer is Missi Pyle whose 'rumble' with Latifah is worth a rental alone.

The script might be ho-hum, and the premise of the movie have been used, but Steve Martin and Queen Latifah still brought down the house.