MAN OF THE HOUSE TOMMY LEE JONES MOVIE
And the whole “dressing up like Indians” thing seems to be the only crutch this movie has as it stumbles along towards its dull conclusion. Īnd hey, guess what, dressing up like a cultural or racial stereotype to spice up your office party/camping trip/Halloween isn’t cool. This is based on an actual program (since renamed the Adventures Guides) that, back in the 1920s, was founded with the help of Joe Friday, an Ojibway Indian. But however legitimate the organization’s origins may have been, in this movie it’s basically just a bunch of white guys hanging out while wearing beads and feathers.Ĭhevy Chase, good job making a movie that’s more awkward than Nothing But Trouble. So, the biggest plot thread the film has is Ben and Jack participating in the YMCA Indian Guide program. This week’s Most Regrettable Moment lasts for most of the movie! Basically, the whole thing is riddled with cultural appropriation. Ron Canada is in this movie, but doesn’t do anything.
He’s having a really boring conversation right now. “George Wendt rubbing his face on an orange looks interesting,” you might say.īut don’t be fooled. So I’m guessing that anyone they brought through the door wished they’d stayed outside. Anyhow, these actors are thrown at the screen with nothing interesting to do or say. Farah Fawcett will excite… someone, presumably. George Wendt will appeal to the ardent Cheers fans. It kind of feels as though everyone clocked out after the film was cast. Movie over.Īlmost nothing happens in this movie, and it happens very slowly. I think I might just have to take this film at face value: welcoming someone new into your family is tough, but if you try not to be a dick for two seconds, you might realize that they aren’t entirely shitty, and maybe they can help you with your ocean trash wall art. Honestly, I don’t know that there’s enough happening in this movie for there to be any subliminal themes lurking beneath the obvious. Ben realizes that it’ll be okay having him as part of the family after all. They are thwarted by the Indian Guides.Įventually Jack finds some crap on the beach and finishes that collage I mentioned at the beginning. Then some criminals that Jack screwed over earlier show up to try to kill him (oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, Jack’s a lawyer, but it rarely comes up). Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your made-up Indian name. Ben is now “Little Wing” and Jack is “Squatting Dog.” Ha. Then Ben gets the killer idea to torture Jack by going to a racist father son bonding camp with him. Ugh, can I just turn this off and watch Vegas Vacation ? Mostly this involves cockblocking his mom and making Jack sleep on a shitty cot. Catastrophe!īen acts like a little prick and does everything in his power to make sure that Jack is miserable.
He plays Jack Sturges, a man devoid of character traits, and he’s here to date/move in with/marry Ben’s mom. They’re a happy little family of two who pick trash up off the beach and make collages with it.ĪBut then Chevy Chase shows up to ruin everyone’s fun. Young Ben Archer (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) lives happily with his divorced mom, Sandy (Farrah Fawcett). Directed by James Orr ( abusive ex-boyfriend of star Farrah Fawcett) this film is almost entirely devoid of anything remotely interesting. THE OBJECTIVE: Watch the 52 worst live action Disney movies, one every week, in 2015.Īh, Man of the House, a film so memorable that no one had any compunctions about stealing its title for a movie about Tommy Lee Jones hanging out with cheerleaders only ten short years later.