In his first lead role, in the gender-render comedy Mr. Mom, Michael Keaton renders a commanding performance as a furloughed Detroit automotive engineer who becomes a stay-at-home dad, thrown into unfamiliar turf, by being tasked with taking care of three young children.
Grade: B (*** out of *****)
Mr. Mom
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Stan Dragoti and written by John Hughes, this rather timely comedy also stars Teri Garr, as the wife who returns to a career in the advertising industry as an executive of large agency.
Released on July 22, 1983, the film received positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing $64 million against its modest $5 million budget.
Jack Butler, his wife Caroline, and their children Alex, Kenny, and Megan, live in a Detroit suburb. During the early-1980s recession, Jack and his friends Larry and Stan lose their engineering jobs at the Ford Motor Company.
Caroline, having been a housewife for years, uses her college education and experience working in advertising to re-enter the workforce, leaving Jack to deal with the new, bewildering tasks of a stay-at-home dad.
Jack discovers childcare and house maintenance involve a complex juggling act, and his initial struggles in daily errands gain the attention of other neighborhood housewives.
Eventually, he hits his stride and begins to feel confined by suburban domestic life, while feeling threatened by Caroline’s work-life as a fast-climbing ad executive.
Whie the film’s issue is timely, the process of resocialization (of both father and mother) is rather predictable, and not always funny.
In the end, the patriarchal order is restored, albeit with some modifications and readjustments, of both dad and mom, who learn to appreciate more what they have been taken for granted for too long, due to the surrounding culture.
Cast
Michael Keaton as Jack Butler, a Detroit automotive engineer, and stay-at-home dad after losing his job.
Teri Garr as Caroline Butler, wife of Jack who gets a job at advertising company.
Frederick Koehler as Alex Butler, older son of Jack and Caroline.
Taliesin Jaffe as Kenny Butler, younger son of Jack and Caroline.
Courtney & Brittany White as Megan Butler, baby daughter of Jack and Caroline.
Martin Mull as Ron Richardson, head of an advertising company that Caroline works at.
Ann Jillian as Joan, friend of Caroline who lives in her neighborhood.
Jeffrey Tambor as “Jinx” Latham, supervisor of Jack at the Ford Motor Company.
Christopher Lloyd as Larry, Jack’s co-worker who loses his job.
Graham Jarvis as Humphries
Carolyn Seymour as Eve
Miriam Flynn as Annette
Tom Leopold as Stan, Jack’s co-worker at the Ford Motor Company who loses his job.
Mr. Mom (1983): Dragoti and Hughes’ Gender-Bender Comedy, Starring Michael Keaton and
From Our Vaults
In his first lead role, in the gender-render comedy Mr. Mom, Michael Keaton renders a commanding performance as a furloughed Detroit automotive engineer who becomes a stay-at-home dad, thrown into unfamiliar turf, by being tasked with taking care of three young children.
Grade: B (*** out of *****)
Directed by Stan Dragoti and written by John Hughes, this rather timely comedy also stars Teri Garr, as the wife who returns to a career in the advertising industry as an executive of large agency.
Released on July 22, 1983, the film received positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing $64 million against its modest $5 million budget.
Jack Butler, his wife Caroline, and their children Alex, Kenny, and Megan, live in a Detroit suburb. During the early-1980s recession, Jack and his friends Larry and Stan lose their engineering jobs at the Ford Motor Company.
Caroline, having been a housewife for years, uses her college education and experience working in advertising to re-enter the workforce, leaving Jack to deal with the new, bewildering tasks of a stay-at-home dad.
Jack discovers childcare and house maintenance involve a complex juggling act, and his initial struggles in daily errands gain the attention of other neighborhood housewives.
Eventually, he hits his stride and begins to feel confined by suburban domestic life, while feeling threatened by Caroline’s work-life as a fast-climbing ad executive.
Whie the film’s issue is timely, the process of resocialization (of both father and mother) is rather predictable, and not always funny.
In the end, the patriarchal order is restored, albeit with some modifications and readjustments, of both dad and mom, who learn to appreciate more what they have been taken for granted for too long, due to the surrounding culture.
Cast
Michael Keaton as Jack Butler, a Detroit automotive engineer, and stay-at-home dad after losing his job.
Teri Garr as Caroline Butler, wife of Jack who gets a job at advertising company.
Frederick Koehler as Alex Butler, older son of Jack and Caroline.
Taliesin Jaffe as Kenny Butler, younger son of Jack and Caroline.
Courtney & Brittany White as Megan Butler, baby daughter of Jack and Caroline.
Martin Mull as Ron Richardson, head of an advertising company that Caroline works at.
Ann Jillian as Joan, friend of Caroline who lives in her neighborhood.
Jeffrey Tambor as “Jinx” Latham, supervisor of Jack at the Ford Motor Company.
Christopher Lloyd as Larry, Jack’s co-worker who loses his job.
Graham Jarvis as Humphries
Carolyn Seymour as Eve
Miriam Flynn as Annette
Tom Leopold as Stan, Jack’s co-worker at the Ford Motor Company who loses his job.