Garde rapprochée

No, it wasn't Oscar material. It wasn't even comedic genius. But it will make you smile and laugh and you will be entertained.

Tommy Lee Jones turns in his customary performance as a blunt, laconic albeit lovable curmudgeon. The plot is predictable, but then this isn't a Shakespearean tragedy, so how involved is it supposed to be? The girls are cute, little, perky provide enough eye candy to send you into diabetic shock. Of course, I could have done without the Texas Longhorn connection being a USC graduate and all. But that aside, I smiled, and I laughed, and when it was over, I felt good.

So sue me.

The picture deals about a divorced Texas Ranger named Sharp(Tommy Lee Jones)and with a daughter.A group of University students cheerleaders(Christina Milan,Paula Garces,Monica Keena,Vanessa Forlito,Kelli Garner) have witnessed a killing of a key man in the accusation of a dope kingpin.The Texas Ranger must to protect the beautiful girls as an undercover agent assisting as coach.Meanwhile he's enamored of the attractive professor(Anne Archer) of the young women.

The film displays comedy,laughters,noisy action,tongue in check and is quite bemusing .It's a blending of comedy,thriller and beauties that will like to young public.Agreeable performances for all casting,the actors seem to enjoy themselves immensely.The reliable Tommy Lee Jones is enjoyable and likable as the two-fisted Ranger controlling the gorgeous girls by strict methods.He suffers several jokes and misfortunes in charge of the cheerleaders and confronting problems in his toughest assignment.If you like Lee Jones's liking playing ,you'll enjoy this one.Besides,Cedric the Entertainer as a sympathetic priest making an amazing musical-dance duo with the cheerleaders.Catching,adequate music score by David Newman and atmospheric,appropriate cinematography by Peter Menzies Jr.The movie is produced by Tommy Lee Jones,his only production along with former film ,the magnificent¨The three burials of Melquiades Estrada¨ .The motion picture is correctly directed by the comedy expert ,Stephen Herek.He has directed comedy-Sci-Fi(Bill and Tex excellent adventures),comedy-monsters(Creeters),comedy-sport(Mighty ducks),comedy-drama(Life or something like it),among others. Rating : passable and entertaining,the flick is diverting but not as Herek's previous films.

Another routine film where Texas cheerleaders witness a murder and are then protected by Marshal Tommy Lee Jones. Jones shows a thick Texan accent and is aging. The guy looks like he has not had a good night sleep in a while.

Naturally, while they are confined, the girls learn a lot from Jones and he in return learns from them.

Nice seeing Anne Archer back in films after a hiatus for her. As English literature professor, Molly McCarthy, her part is small but she shows real professor-like teaching in her class. She is good at giving out the assignments.

The last scenes are exciting when the killer catches the daughter of Jones and the cheerleaders are able to get her off the bus. While the girls are not exactly brilliant, they know do some degree what life is all about. The former also best describes this film which has a few funny moments. Cedric the Entertainer appears in the first and last scene as a preacher with a jaded past.

We aren't exactly talking rocket science here; in fact, in some ways "Man of the House" represents what is wrong with the American movie industry. It seems the movie was cobbled together by a bunch of movie execs. and preview audiences, so the movie feels vaguely familiar. Of course, each of the cheerleaders represents a typical stereotype: the dumb blonde, the too tightly wound pre-med major, the sassy black girl, the fiery Latina, and the "bad" girl. I felt like I was watching a movie script that was written by MadLibs. Hey, we need a laugh, so lets make Tommy Lee Jones buy tampons and watch the hilarity ensue! (Cause nothing says funny like men's reaction to icky feminine products!) The movie also misses the opportunity to properly utilize the talents of Pagent Brewster (so adorable as Chandler's love interest on "Friends"), who has only a few lines as the uber-perky cheerleading coach, Binky, and Ann Archer, who brings a quiet dignity to her underdeveloped role as a professor/object of TLJ's affection.

For those of you cheers fans, you will be woefully disappointed by the lack of actual cheerleading that is shown. Besides one ridiculous dance-off between the girls and Cedric the Entertainer (whose presence in the movie seems to be there purely because it is hilarious to see a large man dance in too small cheerleading uniform), which looks more like drill team practice to me, there is nary a tumbling pass or pyramid to be seen. Sadly, this is no "Bring It On." And, for all -the rah-rah girl power the movie feigns to promote, the girls are portrayed as bubble headed, appearance crazed, weight obsessed exhibitionists.

That being said, the movie wasn't all bad. The laughs were obvious, the characters broad, the plot unbelievable, but there were still the chuckles that come from a fish out of water comedy where you crack a smile in spite of yourself. Tommy Lee Jones does a good job of looking like an exasperated hard-ass, though you can't help but wonder if he's really acting or just cannot believe his agent actually sent him the script. By the way, he is a good example to young kids of why you should always wear sunscreen -- the man has NOT aged well! All in all, not a total waste of time, but I wouldn't suggest building your weekend plans around a viewing!

Ridiculous premise? Absolutely.

Predictable plot line? Unfortunately.

But I'll tell you what, when I saw this movie, the solidly-packed audience found it quite hilarious, and so did I. Of course, the Austin setting was a plus for me, and it was the first movie filmed around UT that was allowed to use the name and logos. It was fun to see local landmarks including Buffalo Billiards, Threadgill's, the campus and the Governor's mansion, but how could Tommy Lee Jones go to Threadgill's and leave without eating one deep-fried dill pickle??

I made a unofficial poll of the women that I know who are over 40 years of age, and every single one said , " I LOVE Tommy Lee Jones!" If that is part of his demographic, this movie should do really well, with TLJ delivering zingers in that cowboy voice, admitting to his 55+ years, and keeping his smiles for the womanly Anne Archer while wrangling the herd of young cheerleaders.

The supporting cast was also fun to watch - just remember this is not a film - it's a MOVIE!