Mr. Mom

Reinforcing traditional gender roles is the entire point of 1983's Mr Mom.

They had a great idea here. It's too bad they didn't follow it through on a human level, instead of making it feel made up and artificial and twice-removed, from the everyday experience it pretends to be about.

Sit-com material, ably done, with Keaton's off-kilter delivery a highlight.

... a slapstick consideration of gender roles in the early 1980s.

It’s an interesting time capsule and a funny family comedy, even if it reworks 1950s sitcom stereotypes for 1980s suburbia.

Mr. Mom rarely rises above the level of a polished TV sitcom, and the notion of a stay-at-home dad, treated here as The Craziest Idea Ever!, had already taken root by 1983. Still, it's hard to resist Keaton in this seemingly tailor-made role.

The movie takes advantage of classic themes. [Full Review in Spanish]

It won't find its way onto any top ten lists of [John Hughes'] work, but it's far more enjoyable than the bulk of his '90s credits, and is anchored by a fun performance from a baby-faced Michael Keaton.

...benefits substantially from Keaton's almost unreasonably charismatic turn as the title character...

A routine comic plot whipped up into an amenable time-waster by [writer John] Hughes and director Stan Dragoti with maximum efficiency and little imagination.