''Man Trouble'' is a 1992 American romantic

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

film starring

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

and Ellen Barkin. It was directed by

Bob Rafelson Robert Jay Rafelson (February 21, 1933 – July 23, 2022) was an American film director, writer, and producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the founding of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. Among his best-known films as a ...

and written by

Carole Eastman Carole Eastman (February 19, 1934 – February 13, 2004) was an American actress and screenwriter. Among her credits are screenplays for Monte Hellman's '' The Shooting'' (1967), Bob Rafelson's '' Five Easy Pieces'' (1970) (for which she was ...

, who together had been responsible for 1970's ''

Five Easy Pieces ''Five Easy Pieces'' is a 1970 American drama film directed by Bob Rafelson, written by Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce) and Rafelson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Susan Anspach, Lois Smith, and Ralph Waite. The film tells the s ...

''. The film is the fifth collaboration between Nicholson and Rafelson. Beverly D'Angelo and

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor, musician, and singer. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), ''Kelly's Heroes ...

co-star.

Plot

Harry Bliss (Nicholson) runs a guard dog service and is going through counseling with his wife, Adele (Lauren Tom). A serial killer is on the loose in Los Angeles, so when the apartment of classical singer Joan Spruance (Barkin) is ransacked and she starts receiving threatening phone messages, Joan moves into the Hollywood Hills home of her sister, Andy (D'Angelo). Joan does not feel safe there, either, because she is harassed by Andy's ex-lovers. She hires a guard dog from Harry's company, and Harry is soon providing more than protection for the beautiful singer. Harry is a natural-born liar who, because of his profession, feels that he lives by a code of honor – even if he cannot quite explain it – as one thing after another spins out of his control. Joan is soft and vulnerable as she is badgered by her conductor husband, harassed by unknown callers, menaced by men from her sister's past, and "helped" by Harry.

Cast

as Harry Bliss * Ellen Barkin as Joan Spruance *

as Redmond Layls * Beverly D'Angelo as Andy Ellerman *

Michael McKean Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...

as Eddy Revere *

Saul Rubinek Saul Hersh Rubinek (born July 2, 1948) is a German-born Canadian actor, director, producer, and playwright. He is widely known for his television roles, notably Artie Nielsen on ''Warehouse 13,'' Donny Douglas on ''Frasier'', Lon Cohen on ''A N ...

as Laurence Moncreif *

Paul Mazursky Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards: three t ...

as Lee MacGreevy * Lauren Tom as Adele Bliss *

Viveka Davis Viveka Davis (born August 19, 1969) is an American actress who has starred in television series and films. As a young actress, she was best known for her role in the 1983 NBC TV miniseries '' V'' as Polly Maxwell, a role she reprised in the 1984 ...

as June Huff *

Veronica Cartwright Veronica Cartwright (born April 20, 1949) is a British-American actress. She is known for appearing in science fiction and horror films, and has earned numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. As a child actress, ...

as Helen Dextra * David Clennon as Lewie Duart *

John Kapelos John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

as Detective Melvenos * Gary Graham as Butch Gable

Reception

Critical response

''Man Trouble'' was not well received by the majority of critics. It holds a 7% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 30 reviews. The consensus summarizes: "''Man Trouble'' has brilliant stars and the germ of an interesting idea in its favor, which makes the scattered, unfunny results even more of a disappointment." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "C" on scale of A+ to F. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' review said "Not much about "Man Trouble," a sad mess of a romantic comedy directed by Bob Rafelson, written by Carole Eastman and starring Jack Nicholson, suggests that these three collaborated on one of the most haunting and representative films of another day." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

s review said that "Jack Nicholson fans should feel cheated by ''Man Trouble'', an insultingly trivial star vehicle. After some initial business attracted by his name on the marquee, film is fated for pay-cable use." Film Four's review stated: "Sold on the proven teamwork of director Rafelson and actor Nicholson -- who had previously worked together on ''Five Easy Pieces'', ''The King of Marvin Gardens'' and ''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' -- this romantic comedy proved to be one of their least inspired collaborations. Nicholson plays a grouchy dog-trainer who slowly loosens up in the presence of romantically challenged opera singer Barkin, who needs to get some canine security after a series of death threats. Obviously intended to be a bright and breezy romantic-comedy thriller, it ends up a mangy old mutt of a movie thanks to a charmless script and disastrous casting decisions." According to '' Time Out'' magazine: "The trouble is, the film never seems to know where it's headed. Not quite a romance, a thriller or a comedy, it's a movie with an on-going identity crisis. Barkin, playing against type, produces a shrill caricature of femininity, while Rafelson indulges Nicholson's familiar soft-spoken laxity, another of his personable rogues." Jack Nicholson earned a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor for his performances in both this film and '' Hoffa'', but lost the trophy to Sylvester Stallone for '' Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot''.

Box office

The film opened in 1,004 theatres and grossed $2,034,475 in its opening weekend. It grossed 67% less the following weekend and was pulled from theatres shortly thereafter with a gross of only $4 million. With a budget of $30 million, including almost $8 million paid to Nicholson, the film made a loss for Pentamerica, their second consecutive

box-office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

after ''

Folks! ''Folks!'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Robert Klane and starring Tom Selleck as a selfish yuppie who takes in his parents after their house burns down. It was panned by critics, earning Selleck a Ra ...

''. Fox expected to recover their $8 million marketing expenses.

References

External links

* * * {{Bob Rafelson 1992 films 1992 romantic comedy films 20th Century Fox films American black comedy films American romantic comedy films Films scored by Georges Delerue Films directed by Bob Rafelson Films set in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by Carole Eastman American serial killer films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films