Three Men and a Little Lady

Three Men and a Little Lady is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino. It is the sequel to the 1987 film Three Men and a Baby. Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson reprise the leading roles.

Three Men and a Little Lady
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEmile Ardolino
Produced byTed Field
Robert W. Cort
Screenplay byCharlie Peters
Based onTrois hommes et un couffin
1985 film
by Coline Serreau
Josann McGibbon
Starring
Music byJames Newton Howard
CinematographyAdam Greenberg
Edited byMichael A. Stevenson
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • November 21, 1990 (1990-11-21)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$71.6 million

Plot

The three men – Peter, Michael, and Jack – are living happily together with Mary, who is now five, and her mother, Sylvia. Peter and Michael continue their careers as an architect and cartoonist, while Jack has very few acting roles. Sylvia has become a famous actress and is dating her director Edward who wishes to marry her, but Sylvia is unsure how it will affect Mary. Sylvia and Peter are clearly in love with each other, although Peter has difficulty admitting his true feelings. When visiting, Sylvia's mother advises her daughter that Peter may never be able to properly express or admit his true feelings. Sylvia, realizing she wants to get married and start a real family, accepts Edward's marriage proposal and announces to the group that she and Mary will be moving to the United Kingdom after the wedding.

The group invites Edward to a get together at the apartment. Peter tells Edward that he has no experience with children and believes he won't be a good father for Mary. When Edward leaves, Sylvia confronts Peter about his behavior, leading to a falling out when Sylvia tells Peter he is selfish and Peter reminds Sylvia about abandoning Mary during the events of the first film.

Sylvia and Mary leave the next day for the UK. This depresses Peter, Michael and Jack, who attempt to cheer themselves by renewing their bachelor lifestyle and throwing a party, but still find themselves miserable without Mary or Sylvia. The gang decides to go to the UK to visit Mary, who is miserable and lonely without them. Peter and Michael (Jack plans to fly over later) are reunited with Mary and Sylvia at the rehearsal dinner. Peter is introduced to Miss Elspeth Lomax, headmistress of Pileforth Academy for Girls, who takes a liking to Peter. Edward leads her to believe that Peter has feelings for her, but has difficulty admitting them. Peter and Sylvia reconcile, apologizing for their previous behavior.

With the wedding fast approaching, Peter is troubled to hear Mary reveal that Edward dislikes her. Peter and Michael realize that Edward intends to pack Mary off to the Pileforth boarding school, but Edward denies everything and Sylvia refuses to believe Peter, knowing he has disliked Edward from the beginning. In the middle of the argument, Jack arrives and Sylvia and Edward leave. Jack confronts Peter about his true feelings for Sylvia, and Peter finally admits he always expected Jack and Sylvia would reconcile and he ultimately would have caused everyone to get hurt. Jack assures Peter that Sylvia loves only him and he must be true to his feelings.

The night before the wedding, Peter goes to Pileforth in a successful attempt to get proof of Edward's scheme, but Elspeth believes that Peter is finally admitting his "feelings" for her and she reciprocates. After initial surprise and then unsuccessfully attempting to deflect her advances, Peter manages to get away. When his car breaks down, he calls Jack and Michael, confirming he has the proof, but he will be delayed. Michael, Jack and Mary conspire to stall the wedding. Michael kidnaps the vicar and Jack disguises himself as an elderly replacement. Peter, with help from Elspeth, heads to the wedding and during the ride, she confesses that Edward informed her of Peter's affections. Peter reveals that Edward made it all up, but apologizes for the misunderstanding.

Peter and Elspeth arrive at the church after numerous delays. He confronts Sylvia with the truth, Elspeth herself confirming that Edward has been lying and his trying to defend himself prompts Mary to accuse him of lying again. Edward reveals his true colors when he then swears at Mary and Peter in turn knocks him out by punching him. Sylvia declares her intention to go home, but Peter stops her and declares his love for her, whereupon Edward re-emerges and states it is too late as they are already married. Jack then reveals himself – not only has he finally proven his acting skills, but the marriage is null and void.

Peter and Sylvia wed with Mary as their bridesmaid, who afterwards throws the bouquet into the air and it is caught by an obviously shocked Jack.

Cast

Production

Filmed on location in New York and the United Kingdom, the scenes in the latter location were primarily shot in Banbury in north Oxfordshire. Particular use is made of Broughton Castle. The scenes where the car breaks down and Peter makes a call from a phone box are shot at Burton Dassett Country Park, in south Warwickshire. The school which Mary was to attend (Pileforth Academy) was shot at two locations. The external shot of the school is the Jesuit boarding school Stonyhurst College in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire. The internal scenes of the school were shot at the (former) Benedictine boarding school Douai School near Thatcham, West Berkshire.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 35% based on 17 reviews.[1]

Critics Rita Kempley and Desson Howe of the Washington Post wrote positively of the film, citing the three main characters' comical rap, the race for Peter to stop the wedding, and the relationship between him and Miss Lomax as the film's most enjoyable scenes. However, Howe also criticized it, claiming Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg were overshadowed for the remainder of the film.[2][3]

Soundtrack

One of the most widely recognized tracks from the film is "Waiting for a Star to Fall" by Boy Meets Girl, which featured during the final wedding scene and end credits. The film's soundtrack album contains the three leads' singing "Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite" from Three Men and a Baby,[4] which had no soundtrack album of its own.

Reboot

In June 2010, a third film, tentatively titled Three Men and a Bride was announced to be developed by Disney. The project was listed to be in development, but the project appears to be abandoned.[5][6] In December 2020, a remake of the film was announced for Disney+ with Zac Efron set to star.

References
  1. "Three Men and a Little Lady". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  2. Howe, Desson (November 23, 1990). "'Three Men and a Little Lady' (PG)". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  3. Kempley, Rita (November 21, 1990). "'Three Men and a Little Lady' (PG)". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  4. https://www.soundtrack.net/album/three-men-and-a-little-lady/
  5. Reynolds, Simon (June 3, 2010). "Selleck confirms 'Three Men' sequel plans". Digital Spy. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  6. Martinovic, Paul (January 5, 2013). "Tom Selleck: 'I think Three Men and a Bride is a good idea'". Digital Spy. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
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