Tres hombres y un bebé

Three bachelors have their lives flipped upside down when little baby Mary is left on their doorstep.

A remake of successful 1985 French film Three Men And A Cradle, this Hollywood version took the box office by storm to make a domestic profit of over $155,000,000. It's not hard to see why really. Yes it looks a touch twee now, and the irritating drug-smuggling sub-plot (also in the original) grows more tiresome with subsequent revisits. Yet it has a frothy cleanness so lacking in many more similar big budgeted movies that came after it. Starring Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg as the "no parenting skills" bachelors, Leonard Nimoy's film , (yes, Spock) sees quality interplay between the guys and some bona fide funny sequences as they in turn attempt to do right by Mary. Yep it's all telegraphed comedy, and the ending holds no surprises for anyone once Nancy Travis as Mary's mother comes back to claim the child. But come on folks, three beefy bachelors trying to change diapers and entertain a wailing baby has to be charming; surely? 7/10

Obviously not the greatest comedy of all time, and though generally charming, it has few laugh out loud moments. That said, the performances and the direction are all decent. And, most importantly, it leaves you with a great big smile on your face. You can't ask for too much more than that.

"Three Men and a Baby" is one of those movies like "Ghostbusters" that you enjoy in spite of the fact that you realize that they are only made for money and are otherwise empty. I saw this about three times when it was new and laughed like a loon each time. A couple of days ago, I saw a dubbed version on Czech TV. This time, only a few of the jokes made me laugh such as the drug hiding jokes, the scenes of the three roomies being obviously outside of their element with the baby and that masterpiece of a scene where Tom Selleck tells off the pompous Hungarian celloist (I always loved that one). Otherwise, the only other entertainment value is provided by the "goofball with a heart of gold" appeal of the three lead actors and a cute little baby for the more sentimental viewers. One thing which struck me though was just how garishly the 80s the music and the fashions were ! When people think "good 1980s music", they usually think of new wave and some of the better hard rock stuff. The music here, though, is exactly the kind of sugary drivel that is best left forgotten. And the fashions, of course, make everyone look like either a "Miami Vice" fan or an ultra clean cut Young Republican. "Three Men and a Baby" is a genuine artifact in this sense.

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

"3 Men and a Baby" is a comedy that's cute and funny. Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson star as three bachelors who live together, and who's lives are changed forever when on one particular day a baby infant is left on their doorstep. The three bachelors are now forced unexpectedly to become fathers to the baby. Plenty of wonderful comedy scenes throughout as the three stars go through the frustrations of having to deal with this infant girl in the early stages, then the baby eventually starts to win them over. If only the filmmakers threw out the subplot involving drugs, then this film would've been a great comedy.

*** (out of four)