Three Men and a Baby

"That's a baby."

"I know it's a baby. What is it doing there?"

"It's sleeping."

Bachelors Peter Mitchell (Selleck), Michael Kellam (Guttenberg) and Jack Holden (Danson) live in a posh loft apartment which they designed.  Peter is a successful architect, Michael is an artist and writes a popular comic strip, and Jack is a actor and ladies man.  After a party in their apartment, Jack leaves to shoot a movie in Turkey for a few weeks.  Peter and Michel discover a baby girl, named Mary (Blair), on their doorstep.  Mary is a product of one of Jack's affairs and is left in his care.

Peter and Michael know nothing about babies and attempt to care for her without cramping their work and personal lives.  Jack's part is cut from the film and he returns to learn that he is a father and joins his roommates in caring for the child.  Can they have it all and take care of a baby, especially with the police and drug dealers popping into their lives?


I grew up loving this film.  It was a treat to get to rent this from Blockbuster or the public library.  It's a funny and sentimental movie.  The baby, played by twins Lisa and Michelle Blair, is adorable, and connects well with the stars of the film.  The three actors at the center of the film had successful film and TV careers: Tom Selleck was known for action roles and chose to play against type here, and it worked well; Steve Guttenberg had just made the successful Police Academy film, which led to many sequels; and Ted Danson was starring in TV show Cheers.  They have believable chemistry and carry the film well.

The plot is good, with the exception of the drug subplot.  The film already have enough going and the subplot just takes away from the plot.  Apparently the film is based on the French film Trois hommes et un couffin from 1985, which also includes the drug subplot.  The film was successful enough to get a sequel in 1990, Three Men and a Little Lady, and apparently there is the potential for another sequel or a remake in the next few years.

A feel-good comedy.

Three Men and a Baby (1987) 102 minutes
Director: Leonard Nimoy
Starring: Tom Selleck as Peter Mitchell
Steve Guttenberg as Michael Kellam
Ted Danson as Jack Holden
Margaret Colin as Rebecca
Lisa & Michelle Blair as Mary