Where to watch Man of the House
2 1/2 Stars
Ben Archer is not happy. It looks like his mother Sandy is in a serious relationship. Fear of abandonment drives Ben to try anything and everything to ruin the “love bubble” that surrounds his mom and the guy, Jack. But Ben and Jack become closer after their experiences in the Indian Guides.
During the 1990s, Chevy Chase’s career experienced a significant setback. Several high-profile box office failures impacted the comedian’s A-list status. By 1995, he is appearing in a supporting role alongside the phenomenally popular nineties pre-teen heartthrob Johnathan Taylor Thomas. Surprisingly, “Man of the House” became Chase’s highest-grossing project of the decade, largely due to the drawing power of JTT during that era.
Perhaps with the pressure of the film’s success riding on the headliner, Johnathan Taylor Thomas, Chevy Chase was freed from having to carry the movie. This, in turn, allowed Chase to be his most likable and funny on-screen since ‘Christmas Vacation’ back in 1989. The film’s story, much like most family movies from the early 1990s, features a ‘Home Alone’-style face-off between an Indian Guides Troop and a trio of mobsters out to kill Chase’s character. ‘Man of the House’ is an amusing and sometimes touching movie that will make you nostalgic for a time when Disney’s live-action output wasn’t just a series of reboots of their catalog titles.
Directed by: James Orr
Written by: David E. Peckinpah, Richard Jefferies, James Orr
Starring: Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett, Jonathan Taylor Thomas