Taglines: She put her life in his hands. Unfortunately, his hands have a life of their own.
Man Trouble movie storyline. Harry Bliss (Jack Nicholson) runs a guard dog service and is going through counseling with his wife, Adele (Lauren Tom). A serial killer is on the loose in Los Angeles, so when the apartment of classical singer Joan Spruance (Ellen Barkin) is ransacked and she starts receiving threatening phone messages, Joan moves into the Hollywood Hills home of her sister, Andy (Beverly D’Angelo).
Joan doesn’t feel safe there, either, because she’s harassed by Andy’s ex-lovers. She hires a guard dog from Harry’s company, and soon Harry is providing more than protection for the beautiful singer. Harry is a natural-born liar who, because of his profession, feels that he lives by a code of honor — even if he can’t quite explain it — as one thing after another spins out of his control. Joan is soft and vulnerable as she is badgered by her conductor husband, harassed by unknown callers, menaced by men from her sister’s past, and “helped” by Harry.
Film Review for Man Trouble
Not much about “Man Trouble,” a sad mess of a romantic comedy directed by Bob Rafelson, written by Carole Eastman and starring Jack Nicholson, suggests that these three collaborated on one of the most haunting and representative films of another day. The memory of “Five Easy Pieces,” plus a few moments in which Mr. Nicholson cuts loose despite the halfheartedness of what surrounds him, are all that mark “Man Trouble” as a film with a distinguished pedigree.
Mr. Nicholson and Ellen Barkin play Harry Bliss, a dog trainer who’s down on his luck, and Joan Spruance, an opera singer who (according to the production notes, if not to the film) is in some way “trying to find her voice.” There is visual evidence to prove that they spent time together while the film was being made, but in effect the two performances seem to come from different continents. Ms. Barkin, looking uncharacteristically pert and affecting a stilted, ladylike speaking voice, seems particularly uneasy. Even Mr. Nicholson’s rare gift for managing to behave comfortably under any circumstances is put to the test.
Mr. Rafelson makes surprisingly ineffectual use of Mr. Nicholson at times. During the course of one typically unfunny subplot, which has Harry and an Asian wife he calls Iwo Jima undergoing marriage counseling, Harry is told by the therapist: “Just take her by the hand, Harry. Look at her. Just communicate.” At the very least, this would seem to be the opening for some priceless mugging by Mr. Nicholson, but there is barely a close-up; the scene just fizzles.
Mr. Nicholson, sporting a mustache and a wardrobe to make that mustache curl, has better luck with dialogue that is tailor-made for his sly delivery. But lines like “She’s got hands like a hula dancer” and “Here we have the dog’s arsenal, so to speak” (when showing off a guard dog’s teeth) can’t offset the film’s embarrassingly weak sense of humor. Repeated jokes about an oversexed dog making overtures to Ms. Barkin and a Hispanic housekeeper are about as funny as “Man Trouble” ever gets.
The frantic, empty plot has Joan terrified by a crime-filled Los Angeles and taking refuge in her sister’s house, where Harry is eventually hired to help protect her. These two, both gun-shy about romance, gradually overcome their reservations.(“It’s so hard to pioneer in this area,” says Joan, as she and Harry venture into a sexual encounter.) Meanwhile, many minor characters figure in mysterious attempts to harm Joan and her sister (Beverly d’Angelo), who has written a tell-all book about a billionaire businessman. It’s indicative that Harry Dean Stanton has been cast likably but implausibly as the billionaire, who has heart trouble, and that the film makes jokes about heart transplant donors.
Also in “Man Trouble,” and mostly bogged down by the film’s joyless approach to comedy, are Michael McKean, David Clennon and Veronica Cartwright as two of Joan’s fellow musicians; Saul Rubinek as an amusingly slick lawyer, and Paul Mazursky as a dog dealer who has business difficulties with Harry. A film that can’t find much deadpan wit in a scene pairing Mr. Mazursky and Mr. Nicholson is indeed a study in missed opportunities. “Man Trouble” is rated PG-13. It includes mild profanity and discreet sexual situations.
Man Trouble (1992)
Directed by: Bob Rafelson
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Ellen Barkin, Harry Dean Stanton, Beverly D’Angelo, Michael McKean, Saul Rubinek, Veronica Cartwright, Viveka Davis, John Kapelos, Lauren Tom
Screenplay by: Carole Eastman
Production Design by: Mel Bourne
Cinematography by: Stephen H. Burum
Film Editing by: William Steinkamp
Costume Design by: Judy L. Ruskin
Set Decoration by: Samara Schaffer
Art Direction by: Kevin Constant
Music by: Georges Delerue
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language and sensuality.
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: July 17, 1992
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