3 Men and a Baby (1987)

This is one of those classic 80's films that are still beloved by millions today.It takes a while to get going, but one the bombshell is dropped the film starts to be quite funny, with all three of the male leads being given the chance to show off their natural comedic skills.It's not my favourite 80's comedy, but its likable enough.

I was actually surprised at how much I liked 3 Men and a Baby. I agree there are some hit-and-miss moments, and it does start off slowly, but a vast majority of it is very funny and enjoyable. The story is simple, three bachelors find a baby on the doorstep and before long they are knee-deep in bottles, nappies and goo. No matter how simple this story is it is effective too.Leonard Nimoy's direction adeptly keeps the entertainment and comedy afloat and it comes thick and fast, while the script has plenty of funny and engaging moments. The film is very nice visually, especially loved that apartment, and the music is good enough. The acting I had little problem with either, Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg and Tom Selleck show great chemistry together and deliver great performances individually as each of their characters get increasingly harassed while adapting to changing, feeding and burping duties, and the baby was very cute.All in all, very enjoyable and fun. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Having reacquainted myself with this implausible Eighties classic this afternoon, there were a number of things that took me by surprise. The first surprise was the director, Leonard "Spock" Nimoy, who I imagine felt quite out of his depth when he directed something as polar opposite to "Star Trek" as this. The second was recalling a time when actors like Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg was seriously big-time stars. I also had no idea it was a remake of a French original, also making this the most successful US remake of a French film in history. The last thing that surprised me was given the high esteem this movie is held in was how largely forgettable, implausible and not especially entertaining the whole thing was. It has flashes of brilliance but sadly, these are all too infrequent.Selleck, Danson and Guttenberg are three bachelors living the high life in a New York apartment. When actor Jack (Danson) flies off to Turkey for filming, artist Michael (Guttenberg) and architect Peter (Selleck) are left to hold the fort when, unexpectedly, a baby appears on their doorstep - apparently belonging to Jack. As their lives begin falling apart at the seams trying to care for little Mary, things take a turn for the ugly when hoodlums turn up to pick up another package of Jack's from Turkey - smuggled heroin.The impression I got watching "Three Men And A Baby" was that it wasn't enough having the three leads fannying about Mary who cries, gurgles and coos about as often as possible. So the whole drug sub-plot was crudely shoved into place to give the film some momentum but by doing this, it nearly completely wrecked the film for me. None of it felt the slightest bit believable and aside from Selleck and Guttenberg, most of the characters were fairly unlikeable. As for those two, the only real difference between them is that Selleck is much hairier and that's it. Even Mary's mother (Nancy Travis) wasn't particularly sympathetic and to be frank, I wanted to give Social Services a call to come in and take poor Mary off the pair of them. However, this film is not a complete loss. There are some good bits in there (I quite enjoyed Selleck's scene in the supermarket trying to buy the right stuff) and Mary herself (played jointly by infant sisters Lisa & Michelle Blair) is very watchable, as most babies are. It's just a shame that it went off the rails in the middle because I didn't feel that the movie needed any further pushing towards its typically sugar-coated climax.Assuming that you can stand the enormous retro-trip this movie puts you on, I'm struggling to see why new viewers should seek out "Three Men And A Baby". I suppose it's nice to see a baby-centred film that doesn't rely too much of comedic slapstick (I'm thinking primarily of "Baby's Day Out" here) but a bit more comedy and a little less drama might have helped its cause. Such as it is, this movie remains little more than a pleasant time-passer even if you can see what will happen come the end. Selleck, Danson and Guttenberg are perfectly competent actors who also possess decent comic timing but making movies such as this was never likely to launch any of them into the stratosphere and before long, two of them were heading into sitcoms while Guttenberg pretty much disappeared altogether. I wonder if the French original is any better...Oh and merry Christmas everyone!

In the late 80's this was the family comedy by excellence. I mean, it aired regularly on many channels and to be honest, it's a funny but naive movie that had a premise that was very popular at the time; making a baby or infant being the center of the plot.Tom Selleck is great as always and delivers a fine comedic performance. The situations are funny mainly because it demonstrates how a bunch of macho men are able to take care of a baby. Well, that's all you have to know about the plot.The dark urban myth is well known by everybody and I won't get into details about it, or I won't even discuss if it's real or a hoax. The truth is that the "moment" is creepy as hell and makes this family movie a creepy experience for a moment.