ComedyDrama

Mr. Mom

- When mom goes to work, dad goes berserk!

Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living when Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It's just that he's never done it before, and really doesn't have a clue...

Release Date : 1983-07-22

Language :GermanEnglishSpanish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Aaron Spelling ProductionsSherwood Productions20th Century Fox

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Jack

Original Name : Michael Keaton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Caroline

Original Name : Teri Garr

Gender : Female

Character Name : Alex

Original Name : Frederick Koehler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kenny

Original Name : Taliesin Jaffe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Megan

Original Name : Courtney-Jane White

Gender : Female

Character Name : Megan

Original Name : Brittany White

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ron

Original Name : Martin Mull

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joan

Original Name : Ann Jillian

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jinx

Original Name : Jeffrey Tambor

Gender : Male

Character Name : Larry

Original Name : Christopher Lloyd

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stan

Original Name : Tom Leopold

Gender : Male

Character Name : Humphries

Original Name : Graham Jarvis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eve

Original Name : Carolyn Seymour

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bert

Original Name : Michael Alaimo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doris

Original Name : Valri Bromfield

Gender : Female

Character Name : Phil

Original Name : Charles Woolf

Gender : Male

Character Name : Annette

Original Name : Miriam Flynn

Gender : Female

Character Name : Exec. #1

Original Name : Derek McGrath

Gender : Male

Character Name : Exec. #2

Original Name : Michael Ensign

Gender : Male

Character Name : Exec. #3

Original Name : Ken Olfson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Exec. #4

Original Name : Frank Birney

Gender : Male

Character Name : Exec. #5

Original Name : Hilary Beane

Gender : Male

Character Name : Check Out Lady

Original Name : Edie McClurg

Gender : Female

Character Name : Deli Girl

Original Name : Patti Deutsch

Gender : Female

Character Name : Middle Age Woman

Original Name : Estelle Omens

Gender : Female

Character Name : Melon Girl

Original Name : Patty Freedman

Gender : Female

Character Name : Young Woman Shopper

Original Name : Bernadette Birkett

Gender : Female

Character Name : Motorhead

Original Name : Lisa Freeman

Gender : Female

Character Name : Executive (uncredited)

Original Name : John Richard Petersen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bob

Original Name : James Gallery

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Megan and I are starting to watch the same TV shows - and I'm liking them. I'm losing it! Mr. Mom is directed by Stan Dragoti and written by John Hughes. It stars Michael Keaton, Teri Garr and Martin Mull. Music is by Lee Holdridge and cinematography by Victor J. Kemper. Plot sees Keaton as Jack Butler, who after being laid off from work, is forced to become a house husband after his wife Caroline (Garr) lands a good job with Schooner Tuna - something he's really not cut out to do. Ah, well, look, it's obviously very eighties, and thankfully society has moved on in leaps and bounds since this film was released. But good honest comedy is just that, honest, and for those looking for a good chuckle whilst admiring the talent of a pre-Batman Keaton, Mr. Mom is a bad mood lifter. Condensed into the 90 minute running time are enough gags and fun sequences to fill out a 12 episode sit-com, with a pre-teen-angst trail blazing John Hughes scripting it full of quotable lines. Lines which Keaton delivers with the comic timing not befitting someone just starting out in film. The fun is mined from Jack being hopeless at basic household chores whilst badly tending the three young children at the same time. Enter scenes involving shopping, dropping the kids off at school, laundry, cooking and ironing. As his masculinity starts to wane, Jack starts too slob out and gets his kicks by watching day-time soap operas and playing cards with the neighbourhood women. This coincides with his wife Caroline (Garr adorable) advancing well at work, but paying a price for it by being away from the family home far too much. There's also the looming presence of Caroline's smarmy boss (Martin Mull delightfully sleazy) and the good time girl (Ann Jillian sexing it up) who has her eye on Jack for fun and frolics. Both of these are stereotypes, but they existed then as much as they exist now, with that, it's easy to cut Mr. Mom some slack. Supporting slots fall to Christopher Lloyd (who would re-team with Keaton for the very funny "The Dream Team" in 1989), Jeffrey Tambor ("City Slickers"), Graham Jarvis (TV "Starsky & Hutch/Cagney & Lacey") and Miriam Flynn ("National Lampoon's Vacation"). The child actors put in pleasing turns, where they score funny points both visually and orally, and director Dragoti ("The Man With One Red Shoe") directs in an unfussy natural way. Ultimately it's Keaton and Hughes' script that lifts it to better comedy heights, the latter of which also plays on some basic fears that arise in the real world. Yeah, it's not just about Jack's bumbling around the home, that John Hughes was a sharp fella you know. 7/10