3 Men and a Little Lady (1990)

Director:

Emile Ardolino

Writers (WGA):

Coline Serreau (screenplay)
Sara Parriott (story) ...

Release Date:

21 November 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

Plot:

Sylvia's work increasingly takes her away from the three men who help bring up Mary, her daughter. When...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Wedding | Boarding School | Self Discovery | Father Figure

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Tom Selleck	...	Peter Mitchell
Steve Guttenberg	...	Michael Kellam
Ted Danson	...	Jack Holden
Nancy Travis	...	Sylvia Bennington
Robin Weisman	...	Mary Bennington
Christopher Cazenove	...	Edward Hargreave
Sheila Hancock	...	Vera Bennington
Fiona Shaw	...	Miss Elspeth Lomax
John Boswall	...	Barrow, Edward's Butler
Jonathan Lynn	...	Vicar Hewitt
Sydney Walsh	...	Lauria
Lynne Marta	...	Morgan School Teacher
Everett Wong	...	Boy #1 at Morgan School
Edwina Moore	...	Dr. Robinson
Patricia Gaul	...	Mrs. Walker

Also Known As:

Three Men and a Little Lady (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG (Certificate #30787) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Peru:PT | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | West Germany:6 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Interscope Communications

Trivia:

Cameo: [Jonathan Lynn]as Vicar Hewitt.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the wedding cocktail party, Tom Selleck removes a large wad of caviar from the school principal's nose and noticeably deposits the wad on her canapé dish. The large wad of food on her plate alternately appears and disappears as they talk.

Quotes:

Michael Kellam: When I was at summer camp, I bunked with a kid who collected farts.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Critic: Eyes on the Prize (#1.6)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

RUBBER DUCKIE

Charming family fare...

I happened to catch this movie on rental once, and I had to run out and buy it on VHS (this was before the days of DVD -- is this film even available on DVD?). This movie was released when sequels were the exception, not the rule, so it was a daring move for filmmakers to make. Judging by most of the comments on the site, they made the right decision, despite what critics may have thought.

As you may have guessed, "Three Men and a Little Lady" is the followup to 1987's "Three Men and a Baby." Although the sequel was made only 3 years after the original, and therefore Mary should only be 4 years old, time was sped up just a bit, and we see that Mary is now a precocious 5 year-old, living in a new house with Peter, Jack, Michael, and her mother, Sylvia. The four have new challenges to face in raising their little lady, and as Mary begins school and starts to make friends, it becomes apparent that her unorthodox family situation is raising eyebrows among teachers and other parents. Sylvia soon realizes that Mary needs a more stable family life, and starts dating a pompous British director, who promptly proposes and moves Sylvia and Mary to London. As they did in the end of the first film, the guys realize that life without their little lady is unbearable, and they race off to England to do whatever they can to get her back! My biggest beef with sequels is the lack of continuity -- some "Part 2" films just don't seem to pick up where the first left off, and leaves viewers with a jarred feeling as though they were reading a book with 50 pages ripped out in the middle. "Three Men and a Little Lady" does a nice job of smoothly transitioning from its predecessor through an opening montage of Mary's growth, first steps, etc. None of the principal cast members are replaced, thankfully, naturally with the exception of little Mary; the original "Three Men" reprise their roles along with Nancy Travis, whose portrayal of Sylvia in "Three Men and a Baby" was too brief for us to really get a good feel for her character. Robyn Weisman is an absolute gem, and does an adorable job of portraying little Mary -- is it any wonder her three dads couldn't stand to be away from her? Fiona Shaw is also hilarious as the headmistress of a British boarding school who falls hopelessly for Peter. Christopher Cazenove also does an admirable job of portraying Edward, Sylvia's fiancé who leaves a less than favorable impression on the guys.

Honestly, I'm not British, so I can't really understand the stereotypes, but the few who criticized this film strictly based on its portrayal of the British seem to be upholding the stuffy, humorless stereotype they accuse the film of perpetuating. I'm sure that many British films also portray the typical caricatures of Americans as slovenly, uncouth savages. If you want British AND American stereotypes, rent King Ralph -- the two cancel each other out. To those who are offended by the British stereotypes, I can only ask that you lighten up a bit -- the film is a romantic comedy not meant to be taken seriously. If, on the other hand, this film was a drama that inaccurately portrayed Englishmen as heartless murderers or criminals, I could see people getting up in arms about it. In this film, however, it is done for comic effect.

Overall, the cast is superb, the story is charming, and the film leaves one with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Teens might pass on it -- there's no slow-motion fight scenes or cars getting blown up -- but the younger and older set alike will both enjoy it. Parents might want to watch with their children -- there are a few "adult" words, but the situations are handled well -- Mary berates Peter for using the "s" word, and when she learns the word for a certain portion of the male anatomy in school, Sylvia and the guys have an educational discussion with her about it. As far as I'm concerned, this film is charming family fun, and deserved far better than the critical bashing it received. I gave it 10/10.