THE REWATCHABLES · October 11, 2019
A 1983 comedy / satire directed by Stan Dragoti, covered in the complete Rewatchables archive.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
Keaton answers the door with a chainsaw while Martin Mull sizes him up as a handyman and husband.
About 16 minThe washer-dryer, vacuum, and chili chaos dramatize Keaton being overwhelmed at home.
About 16 minThe fired-workers scene with Tambor and Lloyd is enjoyed for its weird, chaotic 80s energy.
About 8 minThe elaborate child race at a work event is admired as a very specific 80s comedy setup.
About 16 minThe wife leaving for Los Angeles and Jack confronting her about the kids is identified as the movie's best modern-lens scene, but also shows the family strain.
About 16 minAnne Jillian's character reads Martin Mull's intentions, refuses him, and punches him after he won't leave.
About 40 minKeaton's turn into soap-opera viewing is treated as a funny and iconic domestic beat.
About 24 minThe movie's final scene snaps shut quickly, which they find very 80s and oddly satisfying.
About 24 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsNo; she is not good in the role and does not create enough character.
Amanda DobbinsPartly; the role is underwritten, but the performance still does not fully land.
Bill SimmonsIt is relatively progressive for 1983 because it asks the right questions.
Amanda DobbinsIt feels refreshing because it does not shame the working mother.
Bill SimmonsThe abrupt ending is great 80s economy.
Amanda DobbinsIt is abrupt and weird, but she also appreciates that it gets out quickly.
Bill SimmonsThe rivalry was close for years and Keaton had real moments of advantage.
Amanda DobbinsHanks won decisively, though she enjoys Keaton.
Amanda DobbinsIt handles parenting as a real full-time job and keeps the kids relatively non-chaotic.
Bill SimmonsIt is broadly realistic but exaggerated by 80s comedy conventions.
Says the film was surprisingly normal now but pioneering in 1983, essentially inventing the 'Mr. Mom' idea.
Opening minutesArgues Keaton was a major early star who could carry a movie and later became a huge icon.
About 8 minAppreciates that the film does not moralize about the wife having a career and avoids shaming her.
About 8 minTreats the chainsaw introduction as a classic 80s scene and especially likes Keaton's ad-libbed '220, 221' joke.
About 16 minChooses the washer-dryer/vacuum chaos as her favorite scene and finds it relatable.
About 16 minEnjoys the overbuilt work-event race as a very specific 80s comic device.
About 16 minThinks the movie's parenting feels relatively soothing and not anxious by modern standards.
About 32 minFeels she is not good in the role and cannot make the character feel real or likable.
About 32 minUnderstands the role as underwritten and notes that her performance does not fully sell the career-mom angle.
About 32 minLikes the abrupt 80s wrap-up and prefers it to modern comedies that keep over-explaining.
About 16 minThe movie is presented as part of a larger 1980s wave of films flipping gender and family roles.
Opening minutesThey treat the film as evidence of an era when work/family roles were being renegotiated but not fully resolved.
Opening minutesThe film is framed as a key step in Hughes's career and in the teen-comedy boom that followed.
Opening minutesKeaton and Hanks are discussed as rare approachable leading men of the era, a type they feel is missing now.
About 56 minThe Anne Jillian/Martin Mull storyline is treated as a recognizable, era-specific workplace-power plot.
About 40 minThe movie helped lead to John Hughes receiving a three-picture deal for 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science.
Opening minutesMichael Keaton reportedly turned down Splash to make Mr. Mom.
About 8 minThe film was a $64 million hit.
Opening minutesTerry Garr and Michael Keaton were described as Letterman-era favorites.
About 8 minThe producer cited the film's impact on the term 'Mr. Mom' entering the vernacular.
About 8 min · medium confidenceThe episode claims John Hughes's script was initially altered by other writers after Universal took control.
Opening minutes · medium confidenceThe hosts identify an East Coast/West Coast style transformation in dad aesthetics, joking that the movie invented the 'hipster dad' look.
About 16 minThey mention an unrelated Vudu reboot series based on Mr. Mom.
Opening minutesUsed as part of the 1980s role-reversal trend, with Terry Garr appearing in both films.
Opening minutesDiscussed as another 80s film about professional women and work-life balance.
Opening minutesCited as another 1987 role-reversal/parenting comedy.
Opening minutesReferenced as an early workplace-comedy/Me Too precursor.
Opening minutesUsed as shorthand for the idealized TV mom of the past.
About 8 minAnother example of the 70s sitcom mom archetype.
About 8 minReferenced as the earlier divorce/parenting film that framed a mother leaving to work as villainous.
About 8 minUsed to explain Michael Keaton's rise and his comic persona.
About 8 minMentioned as the movie Keaton turned down and as a career comparison point.
About 8 minNamed as one of the films John Hughes got to make after Mr. Mom's success.
Opening minutesNamed as another Hughes film enabled by Mr. Mom's success.
Opening minutesCited as part of Hughes's influence on the teen movie genre.
Opening minutesReferenced in a training montage/pop-culture joke context.
About 24 minReferenced alongside other pop-culture allusions in the film.
About 24 minReferenced as the model for the race montage parody.
About 24 minThey repeatedly joke about how central Letterman was to 80s celebrity culture and how Keaton/Garr were ideal guests.
About 8 minKeaton's beard and flannel are treated as an archetype that modern dads accidentally copied.
About 16 minThey keep toggling between saying the movie is realistic about parenting and saying it is a wildly simplified 80s version.
About 16 minAmanda reveals the movie's iron-grilled-cheese bit and Bill endorses it; Craig confirms having done it.
About 16 minBill repeatedly returns to the idea that Garr's character is not convincing or likeable enough.
About 32 min“220, 221, whatever it takes.”About 16 min
“I kind of like that she doesn't care.”About 16 min
“A tuna with a heart.”About 24 min
“I know how to do laundry.”About 24 min
“He lost. Conclusively to Tom Hanks.”About 8 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Mr. Mom, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill SimmonsThe Rewatchables
Amanda DobbinsThe RewatchablesREWATCH FAVS
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