3 Men and a Little Lady
Encyclopedia
Three Men and a Little Lady is a 1990 American comedy film
, and a sequel
to Three Men and a Baby
(1987). Tom Selleck
, Steve Guttenberg
and Ted Danson
reprise the leading roles.
after the wedding, taking Mary with them.
Peter and Michael (joined later by Jack) travel to the wedding, where Peter realizes that Sylvia's fiancé, Edward, intends to pack Mary off to a boarding school (Pileforth Academy) as he has no real interest in her. Edward denies everything and Sylvia refuses to believe Peter, knowing he has disliked Edward from the beginning.
An attraction between Peter and Sylvia is nevertheless growing, something he refuses to acknowledge. Peter breaks into Pileforth in an attempt to get proof of Edward's scheme to send Mary there. He is discovered by the headmistress, Miss Elspeth Lomax, who says she has been told by Edward that Peter is in love with her. She begins to take her clothes off and tries to have sex with him, but Peter manages to get away and later explains to her that Edward made up the fact that he had feelings for her, but apologizes for the misunderstanding.
Peter, with help from Miss Lomax, heads off to stop the wedding. To cause a delay, Michael has kidnapped the vicar and Jack disguises himself as an elderly replacement vicar.
Peter and Miss Lomax arrive at the church after numerous delays. He confronts Sylvia with the truth, Miss Lomax herself confirming that Edward has been lying. Sylvia confronts the groom and Edward admits the truth but it is too late -- they are already married. Or so it would seem.... until Jack reveals himself to everyone. Not only has Jack finally proved his acting skills, but the marriage is null and void.
Sylvia declares her intention to go home, but Peter stops her and declares his love. The two marry with Mary as their bridesmaid.
in north Oxfordshire
. Particular use is made of Broughton Castle
. The scenes where the car has broken 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 Abbey
near Thatcham
, West Berkshire
.
However, critic Paul Brenner of Rotten Tomatoes.com cited the film as "treacly," whilst many others on the site have stated that a sequel was not necessary.
The film currently holds a rating of 29% based on 14 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.com, and holds a rating of 4.6 stars out of ten on IMDB.com based on 13 critic reviews.
NeedACoffee.com have criticized the DVD for not having any special features or so much as a trailer. Although Emile Ardolino's death in 1993 prevented him from providing any form of director's commentary, the site was also disappointed with no commentary provided by the actors, stating overall that the audience would be happy to stick with the VHS copy with no other options provided by the DVD.
by Boy Meets Girl, which featured during the final wedding scene and end credits.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, and a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Three Men and a Baby
Three Men and a Baby
Three Men and a Baby is a 1987 comedy film starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Nancy Travis , and Ted Danson, and directed by Leonard Nimoy, in his first non-Star Trek movie directorial role. It follows the mishaps and adventures of three bachelors as they attempt to adapt their lives to...
(1987). Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
, Steve Guttenberg
Steve Guttenberg
Steven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.-Early life:Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the...
and Ted Danson
Ted Danson
Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
reprise the leading roles.
Plot
The three men -- Jack, Michael and Peter -- are living with Mary, who is now five, and her mother Sylvia. The group is split up when Sylvia announces that she is getting married to an Englishman and that she and her future husband intend to move to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
after the wedding, taking Mary with them.
Peter and Michael (joined later by Jack) travel to the wedding, where Peter realizes that Sylvia's fiancé, Edward, intends to pack Mary off to a boarding school (Pileforth Academy) as he has no real interest in her. Edward denies everything and Sylvia refuses to believe Peter, knowing he has disliked Edward from the beginning.
An attraction between Peter and Sylvia is nevertheless growing, something he refuses to acknowledge. Peter breaks into Pileforth in an attempt to get proof of Edward's scheme to send Mary there. He is discovered by the headmistress, Miss Elspeth Lomax, who says she has been told by Edward that Peter is in love with her. She begins to take her clothes off and tries to have sex with him, but Peter manages to get away and later explains to her that Edward made up the fact that he had feelings for her, but apologizes for the misunderstanding.
Peter, with help from Miss Lomax, heads off to stop the wedding. To cause a delay, Michael has kidnapped the vicar and Jack disguises himself as an elderly replacement vicar.
Peter and Miss Lomax arrive at the church after numerous delays. He confronts Sylvia with the truth, Miss Lomax herself confirming that Edward has been lying. Sylvia confronts the groom and Edward admits the truth but it is too late -- they are already married. Or so it would seem.... until Jack reveals himself to everyone. Not only has Jack finally proved his acting skills, but the marriage is null and void.
Sylvia declares her intention to go home, but Peter stops her and declares his love. The two marry with Mary as their bridesmaid.
Cast
- Tom SelleckTom SelleckThomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
as Peter Mitchell - Steve GuttenbergSteve GuttenbergSteven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.-Early life:Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the...
as Michael Kellam - Ted DansonTed DansonEdward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...
as Jack Holden - Nancy TravisNancy TravisNancy Ann Travis is an American actress. She is known for her roles in films Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, Three Men and a Little Lady , Married to the Mob , Air America , Internal Affairs , So I Married an Axe Murderer , Greedy , and Fluke...
as Sylvia Bennington - Christopher CazenoveChristopher CazenoveChristopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset...
as Edward Hargreave - Fiona ShawFiona ShawFiona Shaw, CBE is an Irish actress and theatre director. Although to international audiences she is probably most familiar for her minor role as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter films, she is an accomplished classical actress...
as Miss Lomax - Robin WeismanRobin WeismanRobin Weisman is a former American child actress. She has not acted since 1994.Weisman is well known as the 'little lady' Mary Bennington in the film 3 Men and a Little Lady in 1990 with Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson...
as Mary Bennington - John BoswallJohn BoswallJohn Boswall was a British actor probably best known for playing Wyvern in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest....
as Barrow, Edward's butler - Sheila HancockSheila HancockSheila Cameron Hancock, CBE is an English actress and author.-Early life:Sheila Hancock was born in Blackgang on the Isle of Wight, the daughter of Ivy Louise and Enrico Cameron Hancock, who was a publican. Her sister Billie is seven years older...
Vera Bennington
Production
Filmed on location in New York and England, the scenes in England were primarily shot in BanburyBanbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
in north Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. Particular use is made of Broughton Castle
Broughton Castle
Broughton Castle is a medieval manor house located in the village of Broughton which is about two miles south-west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England on the B4035 road ....
. The scenes where the car has broken down and Peter makes a call from a phone box are shot at Burton Dassett
Burton Dassett
Burton Dassett is a parish and shrunken medieval village in Warwickshire. Much of the area is now the Burton Dassett Hills country park. It was enclosed for sheep farming by Sir Edward Belknap at the end of the 15th century....
Country Park, in south Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. 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
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire. The internal scenes of the school were shot at the (former) Benedictine boarding school Douai Abbey
Douai Abbey
Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the English county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Monks from the monastery of St. Edmund's, in Douai, France, came to Woolhampton in 1903 when the community left France as a result of...
near Thatcham
Thatcham
Thatcham is a town in Berkshire, England 3 miles east of Newbury and 15 miles west of Reading. It covers about and has a population of 23,000 people . This number has grown rapidly over the last few decades from 5,000 in 1951 and 7,500 in 1961.It lies on the River Kennet, the Kennet and Avon...
, West Berkshire
West Berkshire
West Berkshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England, governed by a unitary authority . Its administrative capital is Newbury, located almost equidistantly between Bristol and London.-Geography:...
.
Reception
Critical reaction to the film was mostly negative. Andy Webb of The Movie Scene.com cited enjoyable parts of the movie, viewing the unusual family life of having three fathers as a main entertainment factor. Critics Rita Kempley and Desson Howe of the Washington Post also spoke positively of the film, citing the three main characters' comical rap, the race for Peter to stop the wedding, and the relationship between Peter and Miss Lomax as the movie's most enjoyable scenes for anyone watching, although Howe also criticized the relationship between Peter and Lomax, claiming Ted Danson and Steve Guttenburg were overshadowed for the remainder of the film.However, critic Paul Brenner of Rotten Tomatoes.com cited the film as "treacly," whilst many others on the site have stated that a sequel was not necessary.
The film currently holds a rating of 29% based on 14 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.com, and holds a rating of 4.6 stars out of ten on IMDB.com based on 13 critic reviews.
DVD release
The DVD is available to buy.NeedACoffee.com have criticized the DVD for not having any special features or so much as a trailer. Although Emile Ardolino's death in 1993 prevented him from providing any form of director's commentary, the site was also disappointed with no commentary provided by the actors, stating overall that the audience would be happy to stick with the VHS copy with no other options provided by the DVD.
Box office
The film earned a $71,609,321 box office gross, with $37,757,000 grossed in the Video Rental market.Soundtrack
One of the most widely recognized tracks from the film is Waiting For a Star to FallWaiting for a Star to Fall
Waiting For a Star to Fall is a song released by the pop duo Boy Meets Girl in 1988. A worldwide hit, it became the duo's signature song.-Background:...
by Boy Meets Girl, which featured during the final wedding scene and end credits.