Mr. Mom (1983)

★ 6.5 1h 31m 342 votes IMDb
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Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living when Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It's just that he's never done it before, and really doesn't have a clue...

Mr. Mom

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Cast

Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton as Jack Age 74 · Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, USA Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe A...
Teri Garr
Teri Garr as Caroline Died 2024 · Lakewood, Ohio, USA Teri Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024) was an American actress, dancer and singer. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spanned four decades and includes...
Frederick Koehler
Frederick Koehler as Alex Age 50 · Queens, New York City, New York, USA Frederick Koehler (born June 16, 1975) is an American actor best known for his role as Chip on Kate and Allie as well as Andrew Schillinger on the HBO drama Oz..
Taliesin Jaffe
Taliesin Jaffe as Kenny Age 49 · Los Angeles, California, USA Taliesin Jaffe (born January 19, 1977) is an American voice director, script writer, voice actor, and former child actor. Jaffe was born in Los Angeles, California. He is known for directing and writ...
Martin Mull
Martin Mull as Ron Died 2024 · Chicago, Illinois, USA Offbeat funnyman Martin Mull was born in Chicago, Illinois, the oldest of three children, and raised in Ohio. The blond-maned, blue-eyed comedian with the sad, droopy mustache first came in contact wi...
Ann Jillian
Ann Jillian as Joan Age 76 · Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Ann Jillian (born January 29, 1950) is an American actress, who started acting at age 10. Her career reached its zenith in the 1980s, with her best-known role being that of waitress Cassie Cranston on...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 7/10 Sep 25, 2019
Megan and I are starting to watch the same TV shows - and I'm liking them. I'm losing it!

Mr. Mom is directed by Stan Dragoti and written by John Hughes. It stars Michael Keaton, Teri Garr and Martin Mull. Music is by Lee Holdridge and cinematography by Victor J. Kemper. Plot sees Keaton as Jack Butler, who after being laid off from work, is forced to become a house husband after his wife Caroline (Garr) lands a good job with Schooner Tuna - something he's really not cut out to do.

Ah, well, look, it's obviously very eighties, and thankfully society has moved on in leaps and bounds since this film was released. But good honest comedy is just that, honest, and for those looking for a good chuckle whilst admiring the talent of a pre-Batman Keaton, Mr. Mom is a bad mood lifter. Condensed into the 90 minute running time are enough gags and fun sequences to fill out a 12 episode sit-com, with a pre-teen-angst trail blazing John Hughes scripting it full of quotable lines. Lines which Keaton delivers with the comic timing not befitting someone just starting out in film.

The fun is mined from Jack being hopeless at basic household chores whilst badly tending the three young children at the same time. Enter scenes involving shopping, dropping the kids off at school, laundry, cooking and ironing. As his masculinity starts to wane, Jack starts too slob out and gets his kicks by watching day-time soap operas and playing cards with the neighbourhood women. This coincides with his wife Caroline (Garr adorable) advancing well at work, but paying a price for it by being away from the family home far too much. There's also the looming presence of Caroline's smarmy boss (Martin Mull delightfully sleazy) and the good time girl (Ann Jillian sexing it up) who has her eye on Jack for fun and frolics. Both of these are stereotypes, but they existed then as much as they exist now, with that, it's easy to cut Mr. Mom some slack.

Supporting slots fall to Christopher Lloyd (who would re-team with Keaton for the very funny "The Dream Team" in 1989), Jeffrey Tambor ("City Slickers"), Graham Jarvis (TV "Starsky & Hutch/Cagney & Lacey") and Miriam Flynn ("National Lampoon's Vacation"). The child actors put in pleasing turns, where they score funny points both visually and orally, and director Dragoti ("The Man With One Red Shoe") directs in an unfussy natural way. Ultimately it's Keaton and Hughes' script that lifts it to better comedy heights, the latter of which also plays on some basic fears that arise in the real world. Yeah, it's not just about Jack's bumbling around the home, that John Hughes was a sharp fella you know. 7/10

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