|
Genre:
Action/Comedy
Director: Stephen Herek
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Archer, Brian
Van Holt, Christina Milian, Paula Garces, Monica Keena, Kelli
Garner, Vanessa Ferlito, R. Lee Ermey and Cedric the Entertainer
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Released By: Columbia TriStar
Rating: PG
Release
Date: 30 June 2005 (Exclusively at Cathay Cineleisure
Orchard)
Synopsis:
In Revolution Studios’ comedy Man of the House, a by-the-book
Texas Ranger Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) tracks down a
key informant with the help of an ex-con turned preacher Percy
Stevens (Cedric The Entertainer). But when the informant is
offed, the hard-headed Sharp is assigned to protect the only
witnesses to the crime – a group of University of Texas
cheerleaders – by going undercover and moving in with
the five uncontrollable college coeds.
For a guy used to ducking bullets and confronting heavily
armed drug dealers, he’s now up to his elbows in poms-poms.
Movie
Review:
This
is a perfect Fathers’ Day movie; a loving-but-unable-to-express
father who found the way to his daughter’s heart through
the help of several cheerleaders and who also, expectedly,
found a partner in the midst of the many happenings.
The
storyline cannot be more typical; policeman-turned-crook,
some car chasings, hero encountered some downturns, crook
got the upper hand, hero re-bounced, hero beaten the crook,
hero saved the day and finally hero was rewarded with a beauty;
the bonus was a daughter’s love.
Tommy
Lee Jones in comedy or action movies is not uncommon and most
would associate him with Man in Black or the tough guy in
The Fugitive. Yet and again, he took up another righteous
police officer role, Texas Ranger Roland Sharp, and he continued
to entertain. It is hard to imagine how Jones and cheerleaders
could ever pair up. Surprise, surprise! The chemistry was
apparent; Jones was funny with his straight poker face and
the girls were fun to watch.
The
movie grew on you after half an hour when the cheerleaders
took their stage and they were Sexy, Exotic, Thinker, Innocent
and Sunny. Their carefree life took on a different turn when
Tommy Lee Jones moved in as a protector and doubled up on
the role of a surrogate father. Sexy had a Latino boyfriend
but was denied her regular phone sex by Jones, Exotic could
be the next Angelina Jolie with her pouting lips, Thinker
rapped numbers but collapsed into heaps when she was in the
hyper-adrenaline situations, Innocent fell in love with her
protector and had undiscovered talent in writing, and Sunny…
well, she was sunny. Their lifestyle crashed and the fun began;
the air conditioning counteracted the skimpy outfit stance,
the tampon shopping trip etc.
Anne
Archer was refreshing and it was real good to see Mrs John
Ryan again. Though Jones was not exactly as suave as Harrison
Ford, both were still able to make a presentable couple. A
pity Archer’s screen time was short; four appearances
and in her final ‘show face’, the movie ended.
Forget
about the plot and any action scene that you might have in
mind because the formulae of ‘Tommy Lee Jones equal
to Man in Black or The Fugitive’ does not work here.
Come for a dosage of Jones comic acting, some cheerleading
chicks and pom-pom fun.
Movie
Rating: B-
Review
by W.Lee
|
