Man of the House (2005)
Filmed in Austin in 2004, this film's
plot and casting seemed perfect. The idea was to make
a comedy about Tommy Lee Jones playing a Texas Ranger
(the cop kind, not the baseball kind) who has to protect
five University of Texas cheerleaders. It's an idea
rife with possibilities for comedy. Sadly, barely
a single joke makes its way into the film. Even the
amusing title of the film, "Cheer Up," has been changed
to the less impressive "Man of the House." It's as
if the studios got a hold of this film and didn't
know what to do with it. The edited the story out
of it (all of a sudden one of the cheerleaders has
a crush on Jones) and just shoved it out in late February,
a notorious dumping ground for bad films.
For what it is worth, the film does
have a nice heart and is almost completely innocuous.
There's a nice subplot about Jones' inability to relate
to his own teenage daughter that works very nicely.
And Jones is such a likeable guy that the film doesn't
real fail, it just flounders due to the bad script.
And, of course, for anyone from
Austin, the film is a real joy. First of, UT and the
Longhorn football team is prominently displayed here.
In fact, the film seems almost like a love letter
to Austin with several locales and local businesses
prominently on display here. Local musicians like
Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel are mentioned.
And at least two cast members wear "Keep Austin Weird"
t-shirts on screen. Hell, this film loves Austin so
much even our pretty- boy, no-brain governor Rick
Perry has a speaking cameo.
"Man of the House" may not be the
best film out there, but it's not the worst of them
either. Jones is relaxed and charming, the girls in
the film seem to be having a good time and there's
scene after scene of just how cool Austin is. Now
if we could just see a Hollywood film that turns Austin
from quaint little college film town into a real viable
place to make movies, we'll really have something.
Maybe Rick Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly" or Robert
Rodriguez's "Sin City" will do the trick.
Notes:
Also with Cedric the Entertainer,
Anne Archer, R. Lee Emery, and Curtis Armstrong.
Jones is a producer.
This is the first film officially
allowed to use UT's landmarks, symbols and facilities.
