"That's not a giraffe. That's a Dinosaur.": The Replay Value of Three Men and a Baby

I watched THREE MEN AND A BABY again.

I watch it multiple times a year. I love it. I love it so much I recorded a podcast episode about it.

Here's the joy about THREE MEN AND A BABY, ... it's so fun and makes me feel warm, happy, and gooey inside.

Re-watching it surprises me, because as often as I see this movie, I keep finding new things that make me laugh or go "a-ha!" Like how Peter designed the building, or that the Detective was also the butler with Steve Guttenberg in IT TAKES TWO.

Anyway. I love that every time I watch this movie it feels brand new. I love that my heart flutters. I love that I still laugh loudly at the jokes, and my eyes still widen trying to recreate that incredible penthouse in my mind. I love that I get so excited watching this movie, every time.

I think that's what makes a great movie. A movie that you still feel like an excited nervous virgin or born again virgin every time you re-watch it.

THREE MEN AND A BABY hits a lot of other notes for me too. I know it's not an artistic film. There's that wild heroin side plot that is silly and unnecessary, and even worse is that the movie ends with the mother returning. I also always fear for the baby's life near that damn cop horse. It has primal hunger in its dead horse eyes I tell you!! But mostly, I love this film with all my childhood dreaming heart.

I was talking to my bestie about 3 MEN tonight, and he asked me, "why do you love it?" Without thinking hard about it, I blurted out, "it's probably because I dreamed of having three great dads." (Which is cringey sad and emo as fuck, but hey that's my whole thing.)

I don't argue. I got some childhood trauma issues. But honestly, are you going to tell me you wouldn't want to be raised by Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson in a super rad penthouse? That's an 80's dream.

You know what else I love about this movie? The extreme tone shifts like a manic teenage girl. Are we a wholesome family comedy about rearing children? Are we a crime movie making a statement about Hollywood's seedy underbelly that feeds the heroin trade? Is it a LGBTQA+ movie about non traditional families? Is it a feminist film about leaving behind the stereotyped burden of childrearing and saying it takes three men to do the work of one mother? IT'S ALL OF THESE THINGS!

And as a manic adult, former manic teenage girl, I can tell you this movie is me. I'm a jack of all trades dabbling in arts and design kinda gal. I often find comedy in feeling inept at child rearing. Most importantly, I too have wild irrelevant side plots in my life that start and wrap up for seemingly no good reason with no lasting effect.

When I was watching the movie tonight with subtitles, I inadvertently made the entire experience funnier. Below are some of my favorite screen shots.

and finally, this last screenshot, just because THREE MEN AND A BABY is love.

Happy belated or early Father's Day, Peter, Michael, and Jack. You were some of my favorite movie dads. Thanks for being there for me, even still.