San Francisco. Peter, Michael and Jack are three friends living together in the same apartment. One day, Jack flies off to Turkey to star in a movie, but a producer tells him he will send him a "package" to the apartment, which will be picked up by the producer's associate. The next morning, Peter and Michael find a baby in front of their doorstep, with a note saying it is the child of one of Jack's girlfriend, Sylvia. Shocked, they have troubles feeding the infant and changing its diapers. When Jack returns, the trio finds out that the producer's "package" was actually heroin, which is claimed by two gangsters, but the trio manage to film the gangsters at a warehouse and hand them over to the police. When Sylvia shows up and wants to take over the baby, Peter, Michael and Jack persuade her to stay with them.
Following his unexpected "revival" with the "Star Trek" film series, actor Leonard Nimoy enjoyed a mini-"silver age" in the 80s and used it to direct a few films. One of these films surprisingly turned out to be the biggest commercial success of his career, "Three Men and a Baby", a remake of the '85 French comedy "Three Men and a Cradle", yet it is forgotten today even though it was the biggest hit at the American box office of 1987. A gentle, harmless, benign and innocent little film, this comedy doesn't offer any higher inspiration or versatility than the basic simple concept of three men having trouble having to take care of a baby, yet it is sweet and mildly fun. The opening scenes ignite interest, especially thanks to a snappy opening song, "Bad Boy" by the Miami Sound Machine, whereas the three main actors, Steve Guttenberg, Tom Selleck and Ted Danson, are charming, albeit underused, in the leading roles. A few good jokes grace the screen: when Peter, who dressed up in his fancy suit, hears from Michael that someone needs to change the baby's diaper again, he goes: "I'll give you a 1,000$ if you do it!" In another, Jack is seen performing a play at the theatre, until he walks towards the camera and turns, and it is revealed that the baby is strapped behind his back. The subplot involving some gangsters trying to find a package of drugs, which was given for a pick-up, is in stark clash with the rest of the storyline, as if the writers were afraid that the main story was too thin to carry the entire film, so they resorted to this subplot, which is unnecessary. While it offers a too neat conclusion, the movie is surprising just for how good-natured and innocent it is.
Grade:++
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