I illegally downloaded “Life As A House” the summer I was 15 and it’s been one of my go-to movies ever since. I feel like I’m betraying everything I stand for by supporting the man who broke up Seth and Summer (shut up, reality and fiction blur sometimes) but Hayden Christensen is magnificent in this movie. Plus, if we want to get shallow about it… he looks good even when he’s wearing eyeliner and blue hair dye and getting busted by his mom for practicing autoerotic asphyxiation before school.

It’s about a father (Kevin Kline) and his troubled teenage son (Christensen) who attempt to reconnect over a summer spent building a house. Despite the family bonding theme, I wouldn’t recommend watching this one with your dad, unless you want to have a conversation with your dad about autoerotic asphyxiation, which I do not, but it will probably make you want to call him and tell him you love him. Be respectful, mind the time zones.

Jena Malone is also good in this, though I don’t really understand the Jena Malone obsession from a few years back. I think she has a bit of a young-Jodie-Foster thing going on; maybe that’s why every single director wanted her in all the movies ever.

The film is beautifully shot, with a Guster-heavy soundtrack (you can’t go wrong) and a piano score that I absolutely love. It feels deep without feeling pretentious and, most importantly, it feels honest. Sam talks like a teenager talks; the writer wasn’t particularly concerned about the film being quotable, which I appreciate.

Anyway, basically, this movie will make you laugh and cry and reevaluate your feelings about boys with facial piercings. It also features my good friend Ian Somerhalder as a 17-year-old pimp, so, if you’re into that kind of thing…

sun starts sinking, can’t see my shadow
looks like trouble on a rainy day
guster :: rainy day