Man of the House Review

"Man of the House" reviews

Movie

Man of the House

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-02-14 21:17:30

Rating

1/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

The inane Man of the House, about a Texas Ranger who has to go undercover with a bunch of college cheerleaders, doesn't have much going for it--save seeing Tommy Lee Jones doing his best to be warm and fuzzy. Yeah, I know, it's a big stretch.

Story

Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones), a dedicated Texas Ranger, tracks down a key informant with the help of an ex-con turned preacher, Percy Stevens (Cedric the Entertainer). But when the informant is unexpectedly murdered, the hardheaded Sharp is assigned to protect the only witnesses to the crime--a quintet of University of Texas cheerleaders (Christina Milian, Paula Garces, Monica Keena, Kelli Garner and Vanessa Ferlito). Roland has to go undercover, moving in with the five uncontrollable co-eds while they await a trial date. Soon, the contentious Sharp clashes with the bubbly, outgoing cheerleaders, getting in the way of their love lives and social agendas. But while Sharp gets on the girls' nerves, he has even more difficulties getting close to his own teenage daughter, Emma (Shannon Marie Woodward). Still, through his experiences, he learns a few lessons about how to gain her trust and love and finding something else he didn't expect--love.

Acting

Jones just can't quite pull off the hokey story. The actor continues to exhibit his same hard-nosed, surly attitude that seems to follow him from film to film. But this time, he is surrounded by elements that just don't complement his unsociability. While he is comical in some parts, the words ''cute'' and ''heartwarming'' don't really apply to him, especially when the vivacious and spirited girls are hovering around him, trying very hard to make it work. Cedric the Entertainer (Barbershop), is hilarious and entertaining, as always, but with a movie this trite, he can't be expected to save the whole film, now can he?

Direction

When there are five credited writers on a film, you know you're in trouble. Along with being over-the-top, feel-good family mush, Man of the House also doesn't add up. You're often left scratching your head over the plot, and just when it starts to make sense, it quickly loses you again. While movies often asks you to suspend your disbelief, House almost goes unbearably too far. To top it off, director Stephen Herek (Life or Something Like It) makes only a mediocre attempt at helming the proceedings. It's as if he, too, understands what kind of muck House truly is.

Bottom Line

It is a sad when Tommy Lee Jones stars in a movie where the only draw is half-naked cheerleaders and Cedric the Entertainer. It is even sadder when the combination doesn't work.

Movie

MAN OF THE HOUSE

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2005-10-25 21:09:37

Provider

Review

Stephen Herek has one great asset for this confused jumble of a film: Tommy Lee Jones. That great weather-beaten face, so lived-in, such a minimum of effort for maximum effect, is worth half the ticket price on any movie, no matter how bad.

Unfortunately, there's nothing else in Man Of The House to bump it up. This film begins as a thriller - five cheerleaders witness a murder, necessitating a full-time guard (Jones) on the house to keep them safe - then drifts off into a souffle-light culture clash, generation gap almost-comedy, as Jones and the girls fail to come to terms with each other's worlds.

In a diversion that smacks of demographic box-ticking, we're then introduced to a black church ministered by Cedric The Entertainer. By coincidence, and in apparent contravention of cheerleading lore, he used to be one too. Cue the obligatory scene where the old codger competes against young pretenders to show off the best moves.

Then, just in case it was settling down, along comes Jones' love interest Anne Archer and we're into On Golden Pond for the late middle-aged. Suddenly Man Of The House remembers it was once a thriller and takes an audience whose heads by now have spun so violently they no longer know which way they're facing to its inevitable conclusion.

One to miss.