Man Trouble (1992)

A sleazy but affable guard dog trainer is blackmailed to steal a manuscript for a tell-all book from one of his clients.

Director:

Bob Rafelson

Writer:

Carole Eastman

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Ellen Barkin, Harry Dean Stanton

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Eugene Earl Axline, aka Harry Bliss
Ellen Barkin	...	Joan Spruance
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Redmond Layls
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Andy Ellerman
Michael McKean	...	Eddy Revere
Saul Rubinek	...	Laurence Moncrief
Viveka Davis	...	June Huff
Veronica Cartwright	...	Helen Dextra
David Clennon	...	Lewie Duart
John Kapelos	...	Detective Melvenos
Lauren Tom	...	Adele Bliss
Paul Mazursky	...	Lee MacGreevy
Gary Graham	...	Butch Gable
Betty Carvalho	...	Socorro
Mark J. Goodman	...	Talk Show Host

Storyline

Eugene Earl Axline is a guard dog trainer who gets involved with one of his clients, Joan Spruance. Spruance's sister is a classic airhead, who is spilling all she knows about her gangster boyfriend.

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Plot Keywords:

dog | guard dog | tell all book | manuscript | gangster | 

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Taglines:

He Plans To Steal...More Than Her Heart.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 July 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ela Nunca Se Nega

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,096,030 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Penta Entertainment, American Filmworks, Budding Grove

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Meryl Streep was initially intended for the role of Joan Spruance, but she withdrew when she became pregnant.

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Quotes

Harry Bliss: I'm the only guy who knows what in the hell I'm doing!

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Soundtracks

"EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE"
Written by Sting
Magnetic Publishing/Regatta Music Ltd.
c/o Illegal Songs, Inc. (BMI)

User Reviews

Nicholson is better than the material he's given.

Jack Nicholson plays Harry Bliss, the owner of a guard dog business who falls in love with Ellen Barkin. Barkin plays Joan, an opera singer whose home has just been vandalized. For the time being, she stays at her sister's house. Harry helps Joan protect herself with one of his dogs, who doesn't follow orders. I think the people making this thought this was "hilarious". It's not, if you're wondering. There's another plot involving Nicholson being hired to steal Barkin's sister's manuscript which is a tell-all about her relationship with a millionaire named Red Layls. Layls is played Harry Dean Stanton. By the way, Stanton is good in the one scene he has in this movie. It's credited as a romantic comedy. The comedy is not all that great. The romance was alright. It also has one of the worst music scores I've ever heard in a movie. But I should have known I was in trouble when the opening credits came on. If you ever see this, expect a lot of "why don't you call the police?" moments. Because there's a ton of them in this movie. I know this sounds like I'm trashing this movie and I am, but Jack Nicholson is pretty good and he's better than the material he's given. This movie is all over the place but it's an entertaining misfire. This reminds of a recent episode of the podcast of "We Hate Movies" where they discuss an 80's comedy called Off Beat starring Judge Reinhold. They mentioned how it wasn't a good movie, but you feel good after watching it. That's how I feel about this. This movie was my "Off Beat". I felt relaxed after watching it, despite my reservations with it. Honestly, Nicholson and Barkin have good chemistry with each other. If only, they had a better script. At best, I would give this a rental.