Jalopnik
Oh, how the time flies! It seems like just yesterday... yeah, like hell it does. It was 1983. Stagflation, the Iranian hostage crisis, and the early Reagan recession were still fresh on the American mind. In a portent of doom, Toyota introduced the Camry to the U.S. market. Was it the high-water mark of the Malaise Era? Quite possibly. And now we can celebrate one of its its most lasting cultural documents, on its 25th anniversary. That's right, Mr. Mom has hit the quarter-century mark.
Plot recap: Michael Keaton—pre-Beetlejuice, pre-Batman, when he was considered primarily a comedic talent—is a Motown car designer who gets laid off. He wagers with his wife, Teri Garr, that he can get a job before she does. But she up and trumps him, securing employment at an ad agency, under the oily supervision of the great Martin Mull. Keaton is stuck home with the kids and a nympho neighbor. He drinks beer and does a generally crappy job of keeping house. Later, he obtains redemption. It was a John Hughes script, don't you know.
The flick was an astute blending of middle-class economic paranoia and goofy sex farce, with plenty of kiddie humor tossed in. It ends on a happy note, with Keaton's old boss begging for his return because his car designs are the shits. It was the first of two Malaise Era car movies for Keaton, the other being Gung Ho, also a farce, but with xenophobia substituting for suburban gender anxiety.
With the U.S. car biz once again on the ropes, we wonder how these themes would now be presented? The gentle subtext of Mr. Mom was that Keaton had been emasculated by the downturn, and that insult was added to injury when the little wife became the breadwinner (only to enter an employment relationship right out of 1955—stay away from those randy Detroit ad men, and the workplace in general, ladies!). But America was OK with that. Sort of. As long as order was restored by the time the credits roll.
Circa 2008, however, we'd envision more of a dark fugue, an industrial apocalypse, with the Keaton of Clean and Sober taking to hard liquor, hookers and eventually some sort of violence. Teri Garr would go all Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on him. The kids would disappear into a fantasy realm populated by dwarfs and talking lions. Keaton's former job would be outsourced and his carmaking employer would be taken over by giant robots. Then war would come and a monster would destroy Detroit. Keaton would be left wandering in a desolate wasteland, gazing upward at a toxic, blackened sky, screaming "Why? Why?" before falling to his knees and weeping. At this point the Vulcans would arrive and rescue humanity with space travel. Who needs cars when you have powerful rockets that can roam the cosmos at will?
See, it could have a happy ending, too.
Happy 25th birthday, Mr. Mom!
Comments
I own a VHS copy of Gung Ho. About a year ago I popped it into the old VCR. I got about fifteen minutes in; not so good that one. Though I did laugh at the scene where the Japanese engineers were looking at the Camaro model and a wheel falls off and they all laugh. American cars of the eighties were really terrible compared to their Japanese counterparts.
Seems like you guys aren't going to be happy until you've applied the term "malaise" to every year between the end of WWII and the beginning of the Clinton administration. We're talking about 1983 for chrissakes!
@Benson2175: I seem to remember in that movie that it was the Japanese cars that were falling apart.
Ill have to review that one.
A husband staying at home with the kids? Inconceivable!...25 years ago, aynway. Now nobody would bother pointing out such a natural occurance...
@stuntpuppy: So, if I understand this right, you've got "Malaise" malaise.
@Benson2175:
The only thing I remember from that movie is Gedde Watanabe saying "No more Twisted Sister!"
Keaton has had a "spotty" career.
As retribution, I prefer not to use French loan words. So instead of malaise, can we please say "Freedomaise" or something?
Damn you, AD1066!
One of the greatest comedies, IMO! Kudos jalopnik!
Favorite Line:
-"You want a beer?"
-"It's 9 AM."
-"Scotch?"
gets me everytime :)
Michael Keaton was/is the man. Too bad he doesn't do much anymore except count his batman $$
Never seen this.
Would rather see DeBord's version.
@pjsammy: Batman Bucks are now exchangeable for SchruteBucks at your local Monopoly Bank branch.
@Maymar: Well played, Sir!
American cars of the eighties were really terrible compared to their Japanese counterparts.
You'll get a spirited argument here if you believe that's not still true 25 years later. Almost anywhere else, it will get downright vehement.
It's too bad and I don't agree with it as a blanket statement (late 70's/early 80's were pretty bad) but I'll be the first to admit that they did it to themselves. By the time they dig out, it may be too late. It may be too late now.
"220...221. Whatever it takes"
Does anyone remember the cars used in this flick? Most of them were supplied by Ford. Lets see, Michael Keaton drove a Ford LTD, while Teri Garr drove a Country Squire. The Neighbor who was hitting on Keaton drove a Mustang 5.0, and there was a factory Cadillac limousine that Martin Mull was in when he was picking up Garr. That's all I can remember.
Gung ho was filmed in my hometown of Beaver Pennsylvania. The Gazebo they constructed for the scene where Keaton tells the town he is full of shit stood for several years, but has now been replaced by a newer Gazebo.
Thanks Ron Howard!
Oh, by the way- telling people I am "from Beaver" isn't really all that funny. Go ahead and insert your obvious anatomical reference here if you are feeling clever.
Oh, and about Michael Keaton's other movie (Gung Ho) they were producing cars, but they were in reality Fiats! Take a look if you don't believe me.
@ash78: Yes. A day does not pass when I am not somehow fucked by King Harold's loss to William the Bastard at Hastings. Screw you Norman cavalry!
@UDMan:
They were Fiats.
@Adidac425:
Is that anywhere near Intercourse?
"You fed your baby chili?!? Are you crazy?" Great flick. I liked Gung Ho better, but hey: I'm a car guy? So, I guess you could have figured that yourself.
I think the Malaise Era would by definition end in 1985.
- It was the last year a Mustang GT could be had without a V8.
- The VW GTI is introduced in North America
- The Saab 900 begat the 9000.
- The "begs for a landau" K-car LeBaron begat the much more modern-looking L-body LeBaron GTS/Dodge Lancer.
- The Chevy Citation, symbol of all that Detroit tried and failed to do successfully in the Malaise Era, finally died (along with the other remaining X-car, the Buick Skylark).
@pjsammy: I loved that whole scene...Coming through the door with a live chainsaw. And then the later scenes of him getting way to intrested in the daytime soaps.....I think that the Malaise era ended sometime after the first year of MTV and before the first year of the Reagan admin.
Much was awesome about the 80's. I was a teenager in them; that is qualification enough.
I am in the 2000's now, and that makes them awesome also. I bestow awesomeness wherever I go.
I am on Jalopnik. Jalopnik is awesome.
That is all.
I don't really have the time to ponder it at work, but the social contrast between the early 80s and now makes my want to talk about a forgotten/invisible/overlooked cultural revolution during Bush I and the early Clinton years.
Regardless of any actual numbers, so many of the perceived norms painfully obvious in Mr Mom changed forever.
@pjsammy:
I saw him in the cloning-themed farce "Multiplicity" on the teevee just the other night. He drove a sweet vintage BMW 2002 and was married to Andie McDowell. Actually, several of him were.
@danio3834: The cars falling apart at the end of the movie were the Japanese cars built by fat, angry, beer-swilling Americans. At the beginning I believe there is an American car built by Americans falling apart as the Japanese are studying it.
@UDMan: or maybe Fiats are in reality Assans.
@graverobber:
nope, but there is the famous "Moon Beaver" sign from the Pittsburgh airport...
Cute- but I still prefer "Night Shift". The Fonz and Mr. Mom as morgue attendants that moonlight as pimps, Winkler buys a tombstone with his cash, Keaton buys a Stutz, one of the most awesomely goofy cars ever concieved.
@LandofID:
Uh, yeah. You might want to check your calendar, Reagan inagurated Jan 81, MTV goes live Aug 81.
@Grandjester:
... Ms. Pac-Man struck a blow for women's rights and a young Joe Piscopo taught us how to laugh.
@Chris in KY: beat me to it...so I'll throw...
"38...39.Whatever it takes"
@slantsick: "It's a limo ain't it?"
"It's a limo for dead people."
"Didja see that kid?"
One of my favorite movies.
Keaton's character passed up Ann Jillian for Teri Garr? Yeah that's realistic.
"Jenks, you talk to my kid like that again, I'm knockin' you out!"
My bad...I got them backwords.
Here's a good malaise story. As a teenager I had a friend across the street who's dad was a die-hard American car buyer. He seemed to go through cars like 1 every 2 years. They would up and die on him. I remember he got this k-car. He's driving it for a bit and the driver's door gets a rattle in it. The dealer would not cover it under warranty to open the door and take a look, so he lived with it. A few years later the car is dead and he sends it to the wreckers. But his curiosity is killing him. He has to know what was making that sound the whole time. So he has the junkyard guys open the door up for him. What do they find? A crushed beer can. Yep, left in the door by some joker at the factory.
My personal definition of the era in question begins and ends with one car - the Corvette. The beginning of a sad period began when they took the chrome bumpers off and put the smog equipment on. The end was when the car could again get out of it's own way and had I the money, I would purchase a new one.
So my best estimate is about 74 to early 90's. I believe 94 was the beginning of the Vette putting out enough horsepower to be legitimately impressive again. But there were a couple years there before that were close.
My favorite trucks are the early 90's GM trucks before they took the TBI off of them. Like a rock indeed. You can keep CPI, they have a tendency to eat intake gaskets but they make quite a bit more power.
I've got 250,000 miles on the original motor and tranny on my 94 and it still runs great (knock on wood). By 96 or so they commonly need new top end gaskets about every 100K. In my experience.
But I digress.
you fed a baby chili?!?
How in Blue Hell did that diatribe end up going THAT way? "Apocalypse Now!" meets "Battlefield Earth"
@Adidac425: Don't you mean if we're feeling 'Cleaver'?
Can we start talking about beautiful women and Jaguars yet? Or do we have to wait until the 20th anniversary of Crazy People?
@slantsick: Dog. Guy from outa town. What's the difference?
@Sth002000: Boxy but good.
Mr. Mom is still in my top 50 list. Liked Gung Ho a bunch too. "You make me loff."
If you live in Malaysia it's the malaise era all the time.
@lemondriver: @SpudMills:
"Whoa, Chuck, hold the phone! Feed mayonnaise to the tuna fish!"
@Tanshanomi: You could get GTI's in '83. My friend has one. Not that it is fast...
IMHO "Night Shift" was waaaaaay better. Plus it had Winkler.
@TheBrewPub:
OOOOH! I have obviously underestimated your clever-ness!
You surprise me, I am humbled by your witiness.
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