Mary opens her eyes slowly. She strains to focus on the face that hovers above her. His deep penetrating gaze captures her eyes. He slowly lifts his hand to softly touch her cheek and gently sweep away the forbidden tears that promise to be unleashed at any moment. He knows her so well. He will do whatever it takes to ease her plight. He's ready. He knows what she needs. Her bottle is nice and warm. A clean diaper is at his side.
Cut, cut, cut, cut, CUT!!! This isn't a love story. Or is it?
Let's go back to the very beginning. Use your imagination. It's the early morning hours and you've just been out for your usual morning jog. You return home to discover a beautiful frilly bassinet, complete with sleeping Baby inside, planted right outside your door step.
What do you do? There's always the option of calling the Police. And then it would be sneaky, perhaps, but you could move the bassinet to your neighbor's front door. Of course, let's not forget that there's always Ebay. Then again, maybe it would be best to first read the note that is attached to the side of the bassinet. It says "Dear Jack, Here's our Baby. Her name is Mary.", signed Sylvia.
Three Men and a Baby is the story of 3 grown men that fall helplessly, hopelessly in love with one very special little girl, Mary.
~~~~~
Before we go any further, let me tell you a little something more about these guys. We begin with Peter Mitchell (Tom Selleck). Peter is a successful and hunka-hunka-delicious-looking architect. He resides in a gorgeous Manhattan penthouse that he had designed himself and now shares with 2 of his closest friends. He's the only one of the roommates that has a "steady girl", Rebecca (Margaret Colin).
The next fellow in line is Michael Kellum (Steve Guttenberg). Michael is an artist, and by trade, a cartoonist. His creation, "Johnny Cool", a hipster tiger, is read by loyal readers daily. Michael is also known by his friends as a big brother to all of his lady friends. He has a way of solving their problems without ever managing to get one of them in the sack. Which is rather a shame, since Michael looks to be a rather tasty morsel himself.
And last, but not least, we have the biological father of Mary himself, Jack Holden (Ted Danson). Jack has a little problem. He likes women. He likes them a lot. Peter refers to him as "One Giant Gland". Jack also forgets. He forgets what he's done and who he has done it with. There's nothing like a bundle of pink to jog his memory. Common sense should have told him that eventually a little offspring could develop.
Three men. Three successful occupations. A home that most people only dream about. I'd say the only thing that they're missing is some poopy britches.
~~~~~
As the story goes, Jack must leave for 10 weeks. He's an actor and his newest movie is being filmed on location in Turkey. Before he can leave, though, he gets a rather secretive request from a friend. This friend wants to know if Jack would accept a package for him. Jack agrees, but forgets to mention it to his roommates until he arrives at the airport the next day. He calls home and leaves a message on their answering machine to be expecting a delivery. Would they please watch for it? He also repeats the words that he was told....that it's a "delicate matter" and to not discuss it with anyone.
Later that morning when Peter returns home from jogging, he finds a bassinet has been left at his front door. He and Michael assume this is the "package" that Jack was referring to in his call. They read the note that is attached, and then awkwardly bring the baby inside. Of course little Mary does what any normal baby would do and begins to cry. Peter rushes out to buy the things that he thinks that they will need.
While he is gone Michael is attempting to calm little Mary (a very cute scene, by the way, especially when he tries to impress her with his hairy chest), Mrs. Hathaway (Cynthia Harris) the Landlady, arrives. She came to deliver a package which she had accepted on behalf of the guys. This package (which just happens to be filled with heroin) is quickly tossed aside, though, once she spots the Baby.
The plot thickens when a few days later two unsavory type fellows arrive to collect "the package". Bye, Bye, Little Mary. Will it be too late before the guys realize their mistake? Will they be able to rescue Mary? What will they tell her Daddy when he gets back? How are they going to clean a pool table that is covered in baby powder? And most importantly, what DOES Ted Danson look like in drag?
~~~~~
Although her character, Sylvia, obviously plays an important element to this entire tale, being the Wholly Mother of Mary....the birth Mother, that is.... Nancy Travis appears only for a brief time at the end of the story. In the sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady, she gets quite a bit more screen-time.
Celeste Holm plays the role of Jacks' Mother. Although she only appears for a short time, it is during her scene that an interesting event occurred. As she is walking the Baby, you can see a figure behind the curtains in the bedroom window. It was rumored for a time that this was a ghost. An explanation followed (it was a movie prop of Jacks'), but for quite some time people believed the rumor.
Lisa Blair and Michelle Blair share the role of infant, Mary. And just as a side note, one of those bad guys is played by Earl Hindman. Yea, you know him. He's the Over-the-Fence-Never-to-be-seen-face neighbor in the television series Home Improvement. You won't have any trouble seeing his face here.
~~~~~
I did a bit of research to find a soundtrack listing for Three Men and A Baby, but I could not find one. That's really a shame because there was some great music to be heard in the film. As the opening credits are rolling by, there was the Miami Sound Machines' Bad Boys and moments later goes into another Gloria Estefan favorite of mine, Conga. Right on its' heels was the Rascals singing Good Lovin. Later on in the story, when the guys take little Mary to the park, there is Chicago singing Daddys' Girl.
During one scene the fellas sing Goodnight Sweetheart to Mary in the wee hours of the morning. In a later scene, when Mary is gone and they are thinking of her, the original version of the song from 1954, sung by The Spaniels is played in the background. You may know the song better as the one sung by Sha-Na-Na at the end of their television show.
~~~~~
I've watched Three Men and A Baby several times over the years since its' release back in 1987. One of the things that has always struck me is the chemistry that is going on between Tom Selleck and this little Baby. It's very apparent in many of the scenes. My personal favorite is the one in which he is reading the sports page to her. Here's this big, rugged, tough guy speaking softly and slowly to this tiny little thing and she is totally enraptured with his voice.
Three Men and A Baby does a wonderful job, capturing the feelings that every new parent experiences. The wonder, the fear, the emotions that come into play whenever a person holds such a tiny creature in their arms and that primal urge to protect becomes the most important thing in the world. I don't think it really matters if that small person is the loin of your loins, it's the innocence, the delicate essence of new life that inspires the need to hold and simply stare into those tiny eyes. Natural beauty such as this is hard to find in the world.
This is not your typical love story, but a love story nonetheless. There are no goblets filled with champagne, no candles lit, no Johnny Mathis playing in the background. There are, however, bottles of formula, dimmed lights and the lovely harmony of Goodnight Sweetheart to be heard.
Directed by Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, Three Men and a Baby is rated PG and runs 102 minutes.
This is my entry for the Let's See you Review This! 2 Write/Off which is being hosted by Lynus. Each of the writers have been asked to select a movie for another writer to review. So I would like to thank Marie, our own Dragonfire88, for choosing this one for me. Obviously, it's a favorite of mine. Thanks, Girl! And thanks so much to Lynus for letting me particpate!
Take three of Hollywood s hottest stars (Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson) and one adorable baby girl, and the result is the funniest blockbu...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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