Man of the House (2005/I)

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writers (WGA):

John J. McLaughlin (story) &
Scott Lobdell (story) ...

Release Date:

25 February 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

Protecting witnesses is a challenge. Living with them is impossible.

Plot:

A Texas Ranger must protect a group of cheerleaders who have witnessed a murder.

Plot Keywords:

Cheerleader | Texas Ranger | Shot In The Hand | Car Chase | Crooked Cop

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Ranger Roland Sharp
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Percy Stevens
Christina Milian	...	Anne
Paula Garcés	...	Teresa (as Paula Garces)
Monica Keena	...	Evie
Vanessa Ferlito	...	Heather
Kelli Garner	...	Barbara 'Barb' Thompson
Anne Archer	...	Professor Molly McCarthy
Brian Van Holt	...	Agent Eddie Zane
Shea Whigham	...	Ranger Holt
Terry Parks	...	Ranger Riggs
R. Lee Ermey	...	Captain Nichols
Paget Brewster	...	Binky
Shannon Woodward	...	Emma Sharp
Liz Vassey	...	Maggie Swanson

Also Known As:

Cheer Up (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual content, crude humor and a drug reference.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Norway:11 | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Ireland:12A | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

When Barb appears at the rear window of the school bus, her lips read, "It's me, Barb! Don't worry!"

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the score of the game is shown, it says Texas 14 Arkansas 0. Arkansas won the game 38-28 and were never behind 14-0. The only Texas lead was 7-0 after their first possession.

Quotes:

Teresa: I'll tell you something about this daughter of yours that you know nothing about, she must be severely messed up in the head from living with you.
Roland Sharp: She lives with her mother.
Evie: Why did your marriage fall apart?
Roland Sharp: That is one of many things you and I will never discuss.

Movie Connections:

References The Sound of Music (1965)

Soundtrack:

This Is How I Feel

If You Liked Miss Congeniality, Then You Will Like This, Too.

Man Of The House is about a Texas Ranger named Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) who is hunting down potential witnesses and leads to testify against a mob boss. While on the verge of capturing a potential lead, his partner is shot and he loses his witness. Everything is up in the air and no one knows which way to go when, luckily, five cheerleaders witness the execution of the man Sharp was trying to capture, who is named Morgan Ball (Curtis Armstrong - Who would have thought he would still be making movies long after his most successful stint as Booger has long been dead). After the girls decide to do the right thing, and tell the police, they are held in protective custody until they can capture the criminal who would surely be looking for them. They decide that Sharp will look after them personally and live in the same house as long as needed. This is where the comedy really begins.

The movie is meant to be a comedy, and I think Tommy Lee Jones did an excellent job with it, as well as Cedric The Entertainer. The movie opens like a typical action movie and then goes with the comedy all the way until the end, when it reverts back to that one big action sequence to end it all.

Jones and Cedric made the movie as good as it was. The cheerleaders were simply eye candy, which is just fine by me. My favorite being Barb (Kelli Garner). Jones comes off a little too old when he refuses to let the girls run around the house in the usual skimpy teen attire we all see nowadays, but that is just to show his character. You still get to see plenty of the girls, which is probably as much an attraction as Jones and Cedric.

This movie is a little hard to review for some reason but like I said in the title, if you liked the movie Miss Congeniality, then you will most likely enjoy this one, too. They are cut of the same cloth, so to speak. If you did not like Miss Congeniality, then you probably will not like this either. I guess that is the best way to put it. I enjoyed it for what it was. 7.5/10