Saturday, August 30, 2014

Delayed Reaction: Three Men and a Little Lady

The Pitch: Three Men and a Baby was the highest grossing movie of 1987. No kidding. Halving those profits would be a success.

What Took Me So Long: First, I had to see Three Men and a Baby. Second, I needed to find the motivation to see what promised to be an underwhelming movie.

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, and Tom Selleck is a good and varied core for a movie like this with their own comedic strengths and in the right balance can make for an entertaining movie. Essentially, this is the formula for The Hangover, whether people realize it or not. Then, if you add in a talented enough child actor, this movie could really pop.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: It bothers me when Hollywood studios don't understand how lightning in a bottle works. There is no reason for Three Men and a Baby to be as successful as it was. The movie isn't even all that great but it works. I guess you could look at later successes like Father of the Bride as proof that a sequel could work but those movies don't hinge on a child actor to pull it all together. A baby is a prop. A five year old is a liability. I can't shit on the movie too much because it's still agreeable. That doesn't mean I think it should exist.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend

No comments:

Post a Comment