Living with his wife, Caroline, and their three children, Alex, Kenny, and Megan, in a Detroit suburb during the early 1980s recession, Jack Butler and his friends Larry and Stan lose their engineering jobs at the Ford Motor Company. Caroline, having been a housewife for years, uses her college education and experience working in advertising before she left to raise children to re-enter the workforce, leaving Jack to deal with new and bewildering responsibilities of being a stay-at-home dad. Jack discovers that childcare and house maintenance is a complex juggling act, and his initial struggles in daily errands gains the attention and company of other neighborhood housewives. Eventually, he hits his stride and although somewhat distracted by the flirtatious Joan, he begins to feel confined by suburban domestic life. Simultaneously, he feels threatened by Caroline's responsibilities and work-life as a fast-climbing ad executive. Meanwhile, Caroline contends with challenges in the workforce: her maternal and housekeeping instincts jeopardize her position as a sophisticated executive, and her boss is intent on having his way with her. During a pitch to a hard-to-please client, Caroline's insight as a budget-conscious housewife proves invaluable. The client's president wants her to fly to Los Angeles to help shoot a commercial and in the meantime, Jack's former employer invites him to interview for his old job, but his former boss, Jinx Latham, betrayed his reputation. He lectures them on dirty practices and storms out. Caroline's boss, Ron Richardson, tries to convince her to leave Jack and marry him, while Joan continues to try and seduce Jack. After a commercial shoot in Los Angeles, Caroline relaxes in her hotel bathtub. Ron sneaks into her room with champagne. Back home, Jack tries calling her so the kids can talk to her, but Ron answers. He hangs up, leading Jack to think she is having an affair with him. Caroline fends off Ron's attempts and quits her job. The next day dawns with repair people in the home to fix a broken television and spray for bugs. Caroline arrives home unexpectedly, and she and Jack talk over their misunderstandings, reuniting as a stronger couple. Ron stops by, begging Caroline to come back to his company, as the client thinks that only she can properly handle his account. However, she has missed spending time with her children. Jinx also comes begging for Jack to return to work. He accepts his old job on the condition that Larry and Stan join him. On the newly repaired TV, the national commercial Caroline helped produce is being broadcast.
While working at Motown Productions, story editor and struggling producer Lauren Shuler read an article in National Lampoon written by John Hughes, and decided to keep in touch with him. One day Hughes told Shuler about a disastrous experience he had looking after his two children in the absence of his wife, which Shuler found hilarious. After Hughes asked if that could make a good movie, she replied that "it sure sounds funny to me". Hughes wrote the film, and flew to Los Angeles to rewrite the script with Shuler. As Hughes had a TV deal with Aaron Spelling, he brought him in as an executive producer. Studio executives at Universal Studios, unhappy that Hughes worked in Chicago and not Los Angeles, fired him, bringing in a group of TV writers to remake his script. At this point, the studio decided to turn the project into a feature film instead of a television movie. Shuler, who remained as a producer, declared that while she liked the final product, she thought Hughes' original script was better. Shuler was told by her friend, agent Laurie Perlman, about "this guy who is really funny" whom she represented, Michael Keaton. After meeting Keaton and seeing his screen debut, 1982's Night Shift, Shuler decided to send the actor the Mr. Mom script. Other actors considered for the lead role included Chevy Chase, Michael Douglas, Steve Martin, and John Travolta. In turn Karen Allen, Jane Curtin, Farrah Fawcett, and Sally Field were considered for the role of Caroline before it ultimately went to Teri Garr.
Reception
Critical reception
The film received positive reviews upon its 1983 release. Leonard Maltin gave it 2.5 stars out of 4, stating "pleasant enough rehash of age-old sitcom premise", adding "likable stars make it palatable, but you've seen it all before". Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times similarly gave the film 2 stars out of 4, describing Mr Mom as "a lost opportunity" for resorting to cliches rather than finding humor in the characters as portrayed by the "promising" and talented cast. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 82% based on reviews from 22 critics. On Metacritic, it received a weighted average score of 50% based on reviews from 7 critics.
Box office
The film opened to limited release on July 22, 1983, with $947,197, earning the number 13 spot that weekend. Upon its wide release on August 19, 1983, a month later, it opened at number 3 with $4,279,384 behind Easy Moneys opening weekend and Risky Business third. Mr. Mom ended up earning $64 million domestically. Its success led Universal to sign a three-picture deal with Hughes for $30 million.
Television series
On October 10, 2018, it was announced that MGM and Walmart's streaming service Vudu were developing a television adaptation of the 1983 film, which will serve as a continuation of the film following an adult Megan Butler heading back into the workforce while her husband takes over the parental duties of their two children. The series serves as the first original series for the streaming service and stars Andrea Anders and Hayes MacArthur as Megan and Greg Anderson respectively, and premiered on September 12, 2019.
