Directed by: Stan Dragoti
Starring: Michael Keaton, Ann Jillian, Teri Garr, Martin Mull, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Lloyd
Mr. Mom has its appealing points. Just when it starts to work, though, some dumb slapstick stuff is thrown in and we have to start again from scratch. It is as if writer John Hughes (who would go on to write and direct smarter comedies like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Planes, Trains, & Automobiles) assumed maybe the subject would be too touchy for some and threw in the "safe" scenes of a washing machine exploding or a vacuum cleaner going awry. Movies should have more faith in their audiences.
Made in 1983, Mr. Mom is the story of Jack Butler (Keaton), a Ford executive who is laid off and can't find another job. His wife Caroline (Garr) takes a job as an advertising executive after years away from the workforce. So, Jack is now home with the kids and Caroline is out in the rat race. The idea of role reversals in the household was something not explored much in 1983, so Mr. Mom is topical for its time. It is entertaining on a superficial level, but it could have been so much more.
Jack is, at first, a disaster running the household. Some of these scenes require Keaton to play really, really dumb, which is not his strong suit. Keaton possesses quick thinking and innate intelligence. He is a ball of hyper energy in his best work. He is too smart to play as dumb as he is in certain scenes here. You get the feeling Jack is an alien just introduced to the idea of a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner, cooking, and grocery shopping. Jack doesn't just mess up one thing, he messes up everything, even to the point where he forgets to remove his children's socks before bathing them. Oh, and of course the idea of changing a soiled diaper is foreign to this father of three children. Based on this, it is baffling how Jack ever rose to the level of Ford executive in the first place.
Jack eventually does better. Not just better, but perfect. He does a complete 180 in a matter of a day or two. Caroline's work days grow longer as she meets with clients and sets up marketing campaigns. This creates predictable tension in the Butler household, now that Caroline is an absentee mother. Caroline's oily boss Ron (Mull) doesn't help matters. His attraction to Caroline is obvious and you know it's a matter of time before he hits on her. Jack also has a suitor in Joan (Jillian), a housewife who wears low cut blouses and makes her intentions quite evident.
The actors are likable and appealing, even the ones playing the home wreckers. They manage to rise above the sitcom material they are sometimes saddled with. I wish the movie concentrated on the human elements involved, but it wasn't made to be that kind of movie. America might not have been ready for something deep, so Hughes and company gave them exactly what they needed. I still think there could have been more observational humor about household role reversals and office politics without having a poor guy load way too much detergent in the washing machine.
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