The Worst Film Ever

Dreadfully Boring

Don't listen to the negative reviews

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's not unwelcome, once in a while, to find a movie that's not self-important at all, that doesn't want to explain or change the world, but simply wants to give you a good time. That doesn't mean, however, that such a movie should have a story so thin that it can be effectively summed up in a 2-minute opening credits animated sequence! As a comedy, "Man Trouble" has a few hearty laughs, but way too few, as a romance it is predictable, and as for the "mystery" of Ellen Barkin's stalker, you'll know who it is before it is revealed. The movie has a great cast, but it's mostly underutilized: Barkin's role is somewhat of a change-of-pace (she usually plays more assertive and confident women), while Jack Nicholson's good-hearted scoundrel is a more familiar turn. ** out of 4.

1992's "Man Trouble" clearly just doesn't hold much interest or provide much intrigue for a view really somewhat of a letdown from director Bob Rafelson as a complex plot and lack of seriousness weigh the film down. Even though Jack's role seems out of place as clearly the romantic comedy genre has never been his cup of tea. Still Nicholson gives a bold and well done direct performance as Harry Bliss who's a wisecracking womanizer(certainly something Jack can relate to in real life)who runs a guard dog agency of all things! When a woman named Joan(Ellen Barkin)who's a lonely opera singer has her home broken into and robbed she seeks his aid and service. Then Joan moves into the mansion house of her free spirited and eccentric sister Andy(Beverly D' Angelo), yet trouble follows her and Harry as they always seem at the mercy and the target of hit men. The film then takes a wild chase of schemes involving shady characters and hit men that's blended in with the out of control canines and some romance between Harry and Joan. Overall this film is nothing great it moves pretty well yet the plot is so boring and dull with the humor being very offbeat while the romance is impossible for the key characters to obtain. Still it's worth a watch if your a Nicholson fan as Jack always delivers even in bad films, plus Beverly and Ellen both provide a sense of spice and sugar sex appeal to a film that went to the dogs.

I could never tell what this movie was supposed to be about when it came out. I recall going to the theatres on the basis that this was a Bob Rafelson film and having seen some of his better work I was in anticipation of his (then) latest outing.I couldn't have been more disappointed. A movie that is supposed to be a romantic comedy, with screwball sparks flying left and right between Ellen Barkin and Jack Nicholson, a strong cast that was little more than vaguely visible, and a story that if it was meant to make sense, somehow, it just managed to become a big flop.A lack of focus and trying to look funnier and crazier than it really is, MAN TROUBLE is just a bad movie that has the logic of a ball of yarn and the novelty of a story that's been done to death, and then some.

How Nicholson could let himself be talked into this loser is beyond me. I hope that the producer lost whatever he had on Jack 'cause I don't want to see another wreck like this for quite a while.