Three Men and a Little Lady is a 1990 American comedy film, and the sequel to Three Men and a Baby (1987). Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson reprise the leading roles. It was distributed by Touchstone Pictures.
Plot[]
The three men—Jack, Michael, and Peter—are living with Mary, who is now five, and her mother, Sylvia. The group is split up when Sylvia announces that she is getting married to an Englishman named Edward and that they intend to move to England after the wedding, taking Mary with them.
Peter and Michael (joined later by Jack) travel to the wedding, where Peter realizes that Edward intends to pack Mary off to a boarding school (Pileforth Academy) as he has no real interest in her. He denies everything and Sylvia refuses to believe Peter, knowing he has disliked Edward from the beginning.
An attraction between Peter and Sylvia is nevertheless growing, something he refuses to acknowledge. Peter breaks into Pileforth in an attempt to get proof of Edward's scheme to send Mary there. He is discovered by the headmistress, Miss Elspeth Lomax, who says she has been told by Edward that Peter is in love with her. She begins to take her clothes off and tries to have sex with him, but Peter manages to get away and later explains to her that Edward made up the fact that he had feelings for her, but apologizes for the misunderstanding.
Peter, with help from Miss Lomax, heads off to stop the wedding. To cause a delay, Michael has kidnapped the vicar and Jack disguises himself as an elderly replacement vicar.
Peter and Miss Lomax arrive at the church after numerous delays. He confronts Sylvia with the truth, Miss Lomax herself confirming that Edward has been lying. Sylvia confronts the groom and Edward admits the truth but it is too late—they are already married. Or so it would seem.... until Jack reveals himself to everyone. Not only has Jack finally proved his acting skills, but the marriage is null and void.
Sylvia declares her intention to go home, but Peter stops her and declares his love. They marry with Mary as their bridesmaid.
Cast[]
- Tom Selleck as Peter Mitchell
- Steve Guttenberg as Michael Kellam
- Ted Danson as Jack Holden
- Nancy Travis as Sylvia Bennington
- Christopher Cazenove as Edward Hargreave
- Fiona Shaw as Miss Lomax
- Robin Weisman as Mary Bennington
- John Boswall as Barrow, Edward's butler
- Sheila Hancock as Vera Bennington
Production[]
Filmed on location in New York City and England, the scenes in England were primarily shot in Banbury in north Oxfordshire. Particular use is made of Broughton Castle. The scenes where the car has broken down and Peter makes a call from a phone box are shot at Burton Dassett Country Park, in south Warwickshire. The school which Mary was to attend (Pileforth Academy) was shot at two locations. The external shot of the school is the Jesuit boarding school Stonyhurst College in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire. The internal scenes of the school were shot at the (former) Benedictine boarding school Douai Abbey near Thatcham, West Berkshire.
Reception[]
Critical reaction to the film was mostly mixed to negative.
Critic Paul Brenner of Rotten Tomatoes cited the film as "treacly," whilst many others on the site have stated that a sequel was not necessary.
Andy Webb of The Movie Scene cited enjoyable parts of the movie, viewing the unusual family life of having three fathers as a main entertainment factor. Critics Rita Kempley and Desson Howe of the Washington Post also spoke positively of the film, citing the three main characters' comical rap, the race for Peter to stop the wedding, and the relationship between Peter and Miss Lomax as the movie's most enjoyable scenes for anyone watching, although Howe also criticized the relationship between Peter and Lomax, claiming Ted Danson and Steve Guttenburg were overshadowed for the remainder of the film.
NeedACoffee.com have criticized the DVD for not having any special features or so much as a trailer. Although Emile Ardolino's death in 1993 prevented him from providing any form of director's commentary, with no commentary provided by the actors or the crew, the site stating overall that the audience would be happy to stick with the VHS copy.
The film currently holds a rating of 29% based on 14 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.com, and holds a rating of 4.6 stars out of ten on IMDB.com based on 13 critic reviews.
Box office[]
The film earned a $71,609,321 box office gross, with $37,757,000 grossed in the Video Rental market.
Soundtrack[]
One of the most widely recognized tracks from the film is Waiting For a Star to Fall by Boy Meets Girl, which featured during the final wedding scene and end credits.
Sequel[]
As of June 2010 a third film, tentatively titled Three Men and a Bride, is in development. Guttenberg, Danson, and Selleck have all been approached by Disney to return.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Three Men and a Little Lady. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |