Courtney White | 80's Movie Guide

Mr. Mom movie storyline. Living with his wife, Caroline, and their three children, Alex, Kenny, and Megan, in a Detroit suburb during the early 1980s recession, Jack Butler and his two friends, Larry and Stan, lose their engineering jobs at the Ford Motor Company. Caroline, having been a housewife for years, utilizes her college education and prior experience working in advertising before she left it to raise children to re-enter the workforce, leaving Jack to deal with new and bewildering responsibilities of being a stay-at-home dad. Jack discovers that childcare and house maintenance is a complex juggling act and his initial struggles in daily errands gains the attention and company of other neighborhood housewives. Eventually, he hits his stride and although somewhat distracted by the flirtatious Joan (a neighbor and friend of Caroline's), as well as the banal, senseless plot-lines of daytime soap operas, he begins to feel confined by suburban domestic life. Simultaneously, he feels threatened by Caroline's responsibilities and work-life as a fast climbing ad executive. Meanwhile, Caroline contends with her own challenges in the workforce: her maternal and housekeeping instincts at times jeopardize her position as a sophisticated executive; her boss, the wealthy head of the agency, is intent on having his way with her, all the while being in contention with an increasingly jealous husband. However during a tense agency pitch to a hard-to-please key client, Caroline's insight as a budget-conscious housewife proves to be invaluable. The client's president wants her to fly to Los Angeles to help shoot a commercial and in the meantime, Jack's former employer invites him to interview for his old job, but his former boss, Jinx Latham, betrayed his reputation. He lectures them on dirty practices and storms out. Mr. Mom is a 1983 American comedy film from 20th Century Fox, produced by Lynn Loring, Lauren Shuler, and Aaron Spelling, directed by Stan Dragoti, that stars Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, and co-stars Jeffrey Tambor, Ann Jillian, Christopher Lloyd and Martin Mull. The film was written by John Hughes. Mr. Mom tells the story of a Detroit, Michigan auto engineer who is married and has three young children. He is forced to change places with his wife after his job is cut and he is furloughed. His wife quickly lands a job, returning to the advertising business as a executive at a big advertising agency. Becoming a stay-at-home dad, he discovers just how tough and rewarding a job it is being a full-time parent. Mr. Mom (1983) Directed by: Stan Dragoti Starring: Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Frederick Koehler, Taliesin Jaffe, Courtney White, Brittany White, Ann Jillian, Carolyn Seymour Screenplay by: John Hughes Production Design by: Alfred Sweeney Cinematography by: Victor J. Kemper Film Editing by: Patrick Kennedy Set Decoration by: George R. Nelson Music by: Lee Holdridge Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Release Date: August 19, 1983