Man of the House
Review by Clint Morris
If the daybill - a stone-faced Oscar winner surrounded by
a choir of cutesy cheerleaders - doesn't tip you off, then
the scene five minutes in, where the once-thought picky Tommy
Lee Jones sticks his hand up a cows arse to retrieve a mobile
phone - most certainly will.
Man of the House is swimming in a far more shallow
river than Jones' previous paddles...
Some actors go and take a well-deserved holiday after working
on a heavy-going project.
But in the case of Tommy Lee Jones, it seems he's decided
the next best thing to a break (after starring in dumbbell
heavy material like The Missing, The Hunted
and Rules of Engagement) is a family comedy clunker
that's as predicable as metal in a microwave and as anachronistic
as a regular Latte.
Essentially a one-joke movie made all the more endurable
thanks to the obviously good-humoured Lee Jones, Man of
the House pits a tough, stern, by-the-book lawman (essentially
the same guy Jones has played in every other movie) against
a pad of spunky cheerleaders.
They're witnesses to a crime, and he's been assigned to move
into their quarters, keep an eye on them 24-7 and basically
turn their lives upside down so he can do his job properly
and keep them out of harm's way.
If you're going to do a leave-your-brain-at-the-door style
comedy, there's no going past director Stephen Herek. He's
served up some of the best-looking junk in the business: The
Mighty Ducks, Another Stakeout, Life or Something
Like It, Rock Star and Bill and Ted's Excellent
Adventure.
His films might never be touchdowns, but they're always,
at the very least, endurable and for the most part, quite
fun. Like going in to actually order your pizza, rather than
have it home delivered, you always know what you're going
to get with a Herek film: something cute, something minimally
written, something that'll appeal to the undemanding.
Despite failing to utilise Anne Archer to her full potential
(she's so much better than the 'token love interest') and
overlooking the fact that they didn't write better material
for Cedric the Enterainer, who frankly doesn't live up to
his name here, Man of the House is still an easy, even
enjoyable watch.
Just don't expect to walk away with a lump in the throat,
zest in your step or mile-wide grin on your face.
3.5 out of 5
Man of the House
Australian release: Thursday 12th of May, 2005
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Christina Millian, Anne Archer,
Brian Van Holt, R.Lee Ermey, Paula Garcés, Monica Keena,
Cedric the Entertainer, Kelli Garner, Curtis Armstrong.
Director: Stephen Herek.
Website: Click
here.
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