If you've ever dreamed of the many ways in which rugged tough guy Tommy Lee Jones could be emasculated, Man of the House is your dream come true. Confrontation with yards of lacy, sexy lingerie hanging in the shower? Check. Confusion in the “feminine products” aisle of the supermarket? Oh, you know it. The truly scary thing about this prefab sitcom is that this isn't just a paycheck for Jones--no, he's an executive producer as well, meaning that this is a project he believes in. By the time his hard-ass, no-nonsense Texas Ranger character is subjected to a makeover and manicure at the hands of five Barbie-doll cheerleaders/murder witnesses requiring protection, one begins to wonder exactly what Jones has done to believe his soul requires the scouring power of a Mel Gibson-style self-flagellation. This is a movie that starts with a cell-phone enema for a cow and goes downhill from there; it's hard to imagine that things could get worse for Jones than being required to put his entire arm up a cow's rectum…until you see him have to ask ostensibly grown women to spit out their gum, or explain to the "smart" pre-med cheerleader with a 4.0 GPA what the term "Western civilization" means. Honey, that's like "the end of," which is what this movie represents. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a making-of featurette (10 min.), a “Cheer Camp” featurette about turning actresses into cheerleaders (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a paltry extras package for a pitiful comedy.] (M. Johanson)
Man of the House
Sony, 100 min., PG-13, VHS: $52.99, DVD: $28.95, July 19 Volume 20, Issue 4
Man of the House
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: