Man of the House (1995)

Ben Archer is not happy. His mother, Sandy, has just met a man, and it looks like things are pretty serious. Driven by a fear of abandonment, Ben tries anything and everything to ruin the "... See full summary »

Director:

James Orr

Writers:

David E. Peckinpah (story), Richard Jefferies (story),

Stars:

Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett, Jonathan Taylor Thomas

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chevy Chase	...	Jack Sturgess (Squatting Dog)
Farrah Fawcett	...	Sandy Archer
Jonathan Taylor Thomas	...	Ben Archer (Little Wing)
George Wendt	...	Chet Bronski (Chief Running Horse)
David Shiner	...	Lloyd Small (Silent Thunder)
Art LaFleur	...	Red Sweeney (Silver Fox)
Richard Portnow	...	Joey Renda, Frank's Son
Richard Foronjy	...	Murray, Renda Goon
Peter Appel	...	Tony, Renda Goon
Chief Leonard George	...	Leonard Red Crow
George Greif	...	Frank James Renda
Ron Canada	...	Bob Younger, Jack's Boss
Christopher Miranda	...	Hank Sweeney (as Chris Miranda)
Zachary Browne	...	Norman Bronski (Dark Eagle)
Spencer Vrooman	...	Darryl Small

Storyline

Ben Archer is not happy. His mother, Sandy, has just met a man, and it looks like things are pretty serious. Driven by a fear of abandonment, Ben tries anything and everything to ruin the "love bubble" which surrounds his mom. However, after Ben and Jack's experiences in the Indian Guides, the two become much closer.

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Plot Keywords:

indian guide | divorce | family disapproval | revenge | camping | 

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Taglines:

Jack wants to marry Ben's mother. But there are strings attached.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Man 2 Man

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$40,070,995 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

All Girl Productions, Forever Girls Productions, Marty Katz Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a book that Jack is browsing through, it clearly shows the name "Clarice Starling", a character from The Silence of the Lambs.

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Goofs

At the end of the movie, during the wedding. As Jack is asking Ben for the rings, Ben kids around and pretends to have lost them. If you look at the ring finger of Jack's left hand, he is clearly already wearing his wedding ring.

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Quotes

Jack Sturgess: Ben, what are you doing here?
Ben Archer: I came back here to help you. What do you think?
Jack Sturgess: I don't need any help.
Ben Archer: [observing the state Jack is in] Oh, really? Then what were you planning to do when those guys found you? Lie there and pretend to be a slug?
Jack Sturgess: Exactly. Now get out of here. You're blowing my cover.
Ben Archer: [struggling to get the tree trunk off Jack's leg] You can't tell me what to do. You're not my father.
Jack Sturgess: [with a groan] I knew you were going to say that eventually.

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Connections

References The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Soundtracks

"Hit The Road Jack"
Written by Percy Mayfield

User Reviews

Not just a comedy

Sandy Archer (Farrah Fawcett) is a single mom. She and her son, Ben (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) have been on their own for years, but now she's met an attorney, Jack Sturgess (Chevy Chase), and fallen in love. When Jack moves in to Archer's loft, he quickly learns that it's going to be rough going with Ben. To make matters more complicated, Jack routinely helps put away criminals with dangerous connections. Can Jack save his relationship with Sandy, save his job, save his life and become a welcomed stepfather to Ben all at the save time?

I feel a bit sorry for Chevy Chase. Regardless of what he's like personally, I think he's genuinely talented, and not just for comedy. But he's acquired such a reputation over the years for being in sub par stinkers (mostly unjustly deserved, in my opinion) that I think it's a major hurdle for audiences to give his films a fair chance. That's a shame, because this is a very good film, with a good performance from Chase and the rest of the cast.

It's important while watching to not expect Man of the House to be an over-the-top comedy. It's as much a drama as anything else, and has adventure/thriller aspects as well. All of the genres are entered into from more of a child's or adolescent's perspective, which is appropriate for the material and venue.

From that perspective, scenes about the Indian Guides (a plot point that may have swayed my view of the film even more, as it brought back memories of my time in the Indian Guides with my dad back in the early 1970s) are just as weighty (both seriously dramatic and funny) as chase scenes with an impending threat of death. Other seemingly minor elements are also given more weight than they would have from an adult standpoint, and logic, plot progression and even physics are coming from a kid's world, not an adult's. That's not an easy thing for a 40-something year old director to achieve with just the right tone, but James Orr makes it look effortless.

The scriptwriters weave the various threads of the film together very nicely, as Jack uses connections from his work to make the Indian Guides even more fun and educational, while at the same time, saving his relationship with an important client. In fact, the funniest material in the film comes from fish out of water themes. Various characters are regularly approaching activities they would normally avoid, with inappropriate attitudes, clothing, and so on. The subtext of the film, stemming from the fish out of water material, concerns furthering self through understanding and furthering others--opening up to new perspectives, trying different things, cooperating with others, and so on. Initial resistance makes things difficult, but the attempt to understand and further others brings happiness.

The entire principle cast is great, but Man of the House also benefits from a number of excellent character actors, including George Wendt, Art LaFleur and Richard Portnow. Like most films, you'll enjoy Man of the House more, and get much more out of it, if you leave your expectations/preconceptions parked at the door.