Have you ever seen Mr. Mom? It was the first starring role for Michael Keaton. Basic premise is an engineering exec loses his job and becomes a stay-at-home dad while his wife works. The joke is he has no idea what the Hell he’s doing because raising the kids is women’s work, wink, snicker, ha ha. This is what passed for feminism in the 1980s.
41 years later, Michael Keaton still doesn’t know how to parent, which is kind of sad. But, hey, he played Batman again, right? So why can’t he learn to parent young children again, huh? If half the country hasn’t learned shit since President Reagan, why should Michael Keaton have to? Of course, Michael’s movie kids aren’t babies anymore. That would be silly. No, the kids in this film are nine-year-old twins. This is how time in Hollywood works.
Andy Goodrich (Keaton) wakes to call from his wife at 3 a.m. Is it safe to say that no 3 a.m. call is good news? I think the best you can hope for at that hour is a booty call … which probably isn’t good news at 3 a.m., but still best-case-scenario. Naomi is in rehab. Goodrich didn’t even know she had an addiction. Way to observe, buddy. And she’s leaving him … and if you’re a woman willing to leave a man twenty to thirty years older than you, that really doesn’t speak well of the man.
Still, the film is entitled “Goodrich,” not Naomi. And it’s all about getting this clueless doof to understand responsibility away from the office. His office, btw, is a failing art gallery. And Naomi has left him to take care of their nine-year-old twins by himself. Andy Goodrich does not know his children. Like, at all.
There is also a child from a previous marriage, Grace (Mila Kunis), who is in her third trimester. So, essentially, we’re asking our hero to learn how to father while he’s on the verge of becoming a grandparent. Better late than never? I think we call this a transformation piece – a film that is very light on plot, but heavy on character development. In this case, one very particular character.
Goodrich is very much a feel-good film.It will induce tears and joy and exasperation. It does ask the question, “How does a man not know his wife has a pill problem, especially when
the nine-year-old twins know?” But it doesn’t ask it so much as state it to give us a jumping off point to show the growth of the main character. The film never asks why a trophy wife would ask for a divorce. It also shares selectively odd touches, like a mantle consisting of many pictures of dad and kids, but no pictures of mom. I could like the film by itself for exactly one (1) throw away moment: when dad takes the kids shopping for Halloween costumes, then ignores their Boba Fett wishes and has them trick-or-treat as Frida Kahlo and Andy Warhol. When the candy-giver misidentifies the children, camera pans to a shrugging father masquerading as Salvador Dali – well, how else is a gallery owner supposed to dress himself and the kids on Halloween?
I feel like this film is in the wrong era. This is a simple character study about parenting that wants to be a little more important than it actually is. This is not 1983. Our standards for male parenting have changed in the past four decades. Maybe there are still a few Boomers who still need a refresher, but odds are they’ve heard this message before. Overall, a very tepid frogblog endorsement here.
There once was a man named Goodrich
Who got himself into a sitch
His wife ran away
Leaving him with no say
And young twins to attend, what a bitch!
Rated R, 110 Minutes
Director: Hallie Meyes-Shyer
Writer: Hallie Meyers-Shyer
Genre: Michael Keaton, dad … again
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Forgiving parents
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Raised by wolves and spiteful of it
