Man Trouble (1992) Reviews

• Gone to the dogs

  jotix1002005-12-13

  Bob Rafelson is a puzzling director. After his big successes with "Fiver Easy Pieces" and "The King of Marvin Gardens", Mr. Rafelson doesn't seem to come out with a film project that will take him back to his past glory. This is evident with the disastrous "Man Trouble" shown on cable recently. The film is a mess. Jack Nicholson, an actor who has worked with the director before with better results, plays the main role of Harry Bliss a trainer of dogs without any redeeming qualities. Harry is married to an Oriental woman and is working his marital problems with a counselor. Harry gets involved with Ellen Barkin, who is being stalked. The solution is to get a German Shephard dog to protect her. She has moved to her sister's swanky home where probably the only funny scene happens. We watch Ms. Barkin working with the dog and all her commands have to be in German, otherwise the dog doesn't respond! The others in the cast are totally wasted. Beverly D'Angelo has some good moments. Michael McKean, Saul Rubineck, Henry Dean Stanton, are seen in supporting roles. See if there is something else to watch, but don't make the same mistake we made.

• Surprised me

  walrus292005-05-27

  I found this movie in the $5.50 bin of Wal-Mart and only got it because it had Jack Nicholson in it. I had extremely low expectations, which is probably why I got such a surprise--This movie is hilarious. It has a very dry line of sarcasm running all the way through it, particularly in the off-the-wall arguments between Nicholson's character and the wife. Taking everything literally will not help you understand the humor. You have to view every line as some sort of comeback to a previous one, and that's when you see the laughable irony in the film. It really did surprise me; I enjoyed it! And the acting is stellar. The characters really are portrayed well. They're all very comical characters, full of flaws, which just makes them more realistic in a rather ridiculous plot which honestly could have been thrown out the window. Personally, I would have loved to just see a film about the marriage counseling, which is only glimpsed at, between Nicholson and his wife. Some of the funniest moments are in that part of the film, but, like I said, it's dry. Enjoy!

• May-December Romance Too Hard To Believe

  Ankhoryt2008-09-24

  I love Ellen Barkin, 'deed I do, but even she cannot make the romance with Jack Nicholson believable here. Even back in 1992, Nicholson was TOO OLD to play a romantic lead with a woman seventeen years his junior. I was getting the creeps watching this in the fall of 2008, and suddenly I realized why. The pairing reminds me of John McCain and his trophy wife, Cindy. McCain: born 1936. Nicholson: born 1937. Cindy and Barkin: both born 1954. It's obnoxious, the way Hollywood continues to indulge Nicholson (and, presumably, equally elderly male producers and writers) with this assumption that an audience can believe gorgeous young women will fall all over him. Oh, spare me. And start giving actresses Nicholson's own age parts like the plums HE gets, or at least, parts playing his love interest. I like dogs, I like Ellen Barkin, and that's why I was able to endure the movie at all, though I was embarrassed for her being stuck with such a ludicrous part - and one which, in a movie meant to be funny, failed to take full advantage of her talent for comedy, especially her considerable physical comedy chops. Also loved Lauren Tom as the Nicholson's wife! Again, the age difference is severe - Tom was born in 1961, making her fully 24 years younger than Nicholson and his character - but Tom's put-on accent (she was born in Chicago) and Nicholson's overall sleaziness suggest that she's a mail-order bride struggling to make the best of a groom who calls her "Iwo Jima." Tom, like Barkin, deserves better writing than this. One star for Barkin, one star for Tom, and one star for the dog. Zero stars for the rest of it, particularly casting Nicholson and for the overly-complex plot lines.

• Not Even Jack Nicholson Can Save This One

  tfrizzell2000-11-04

  Dreadful Jack Nicholson vehicle from 1992 that is just not very good at all. Nicholson stars as a guard-dog trainer who becomes involved with a woman who is being stalked (Ellen Barkin). This is supposed to be a comedy, but nothing is very funny. The stalking side-story is used to cover up dead spots in the film, but this fails to work. This creates a film that is not very funny and not very dramatic. It is a film that is just in limbo. Bob Rafelson, usually a great director, just does not have it here. The screenplay is awful and overall the film is awful. Only the greatest Jack Nicholson fans will get anything worthwhile out of "Man Trouble". 2 stars out of 5.

• Not that bad...even good

  therm2004-12-19

  Well, I saw the movie last night and have to agree with Alex here. I think most people here expected more than just an entertaining movie. The humor is based on silly situations and conversations, and if you can't laugh about something just because it's so darn silly, you indeed won't like the humor in this movie. I can appreciate that humor from time to time, and yesterday was one of those times. I expected nothing much from this movie and it turned out good for me. And Nicholson plays it alright if you ask me (since some are of another opinion here). My opinion: a nice one for down the road, when you're out of options to do something and you just want to lay back and think about nothing...