MAN OF THE HOUSE
(director: Stephen Herek; screenwriters: Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone, John McLaughlin, story by McLaughlin & Scott Lobdell; cinematographer: Peter Menzies Jr.; editors: Chris Lebenzon, Joel Negron; music: David Newman; cast: Tommy Lee Jones (Roland Sharp), Christiana Milian (Anne), Paula Garces (Teresa), Monica Keena (Evie), Vanessa Ferlito (Heather), Anne Archer (Professor Molly McCarthy), Kelli Garner (Barb), Brian Van Holt (Eddie Zane), R. Lee Ermey (Captain Nichols), Shea Whigham (Ranger Holt), Cedric the Entertainer (Percy Stevens), Paget Brewster (Coach Blinky), Shannon Woodward (Emma); Runtime: 100; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Todd Garner, Allyn Stewart, Steven Reuther; Netflix/Columbia Pictures; 2025)
“A cliched third-rate comedy.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A cliched third-rate comedy filled with dumb sexist jokes. It’s weakly directed by Stephen Herek (“Critters”/”Mr. Holland’s Opus”) and poorly written by Robert Ramsey, Matthew Stone, and John McLaughlin. It’s based on a story by McLaughlin and Scott Lobdell. They create a banal and predictable film.
Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) is a middle-aged, divorced man with a teenage daughter, who is a no-nonsense Texas Ranger, assigned to go undercover as a cheerleader coach at a Texas University sorority house for five ditsy and peppy football cheerleaders (Christiana Milian, Kelli Garner, Paula Garces, Monica Keena, and Vanessa Ferlito). He’s there to protect the cheerleaders who witnessed a murder in their bathroom of an informer ready to spill the goods on a drug lord during a drug bust.
The villain is a policeman (Brian Van Holt) from the drug bust, who kidnaps Roland’s daughter (Shannon Woodward) because her dad won’t let him question the witnesses.
Roland dates a woman closer to his age he meets when shopping for tampons in a drug store on campus, an English professor (Ann Archer). But their underwritten romanceven goes nowhere.
Since it’s not funny and the story is a bummer, I don’t think even the frat boy target audience will care much for this schlocky film even if it features hot cheerleaders in skimpy outfits.
REVIEWED ON 1/20/2026 GRADE: C
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