Man of the House – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Man of the House

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2005

22%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Tommy Lee Jones babysits cheerleaders in this 2005 dud that aged like milk left in a hot car.

5.8

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Man of the House

movie

2005

22%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Tommy Lee Jones babysits cheerleaders in this 2005 dud that aged like milk left in a hot car.

5.8

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5.8

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Screenwise Verdict

Look, I'll be straight with you: this movie is bad. Not fun-bad, not so-bad-it's-good bad. Just... bad.

The premise—gruff Texas Ranger goes undercover as a cheerleading coach to protect witnesses—could work in better hands. But here it's an excuse to point cameras at college cheerleaders in short skirts while Tommy Lee Jones scowls. The jokes don't land, the action is forgettable, and the whole thing feels creepy rather than charming.

Critics destroyed it (9% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences shrugged (46%), and twenty years later it hasn't aged into cult classic territory—it's just aged. The gender politics are uncomfortable, the comedy is stale, and there are literally thousands of better options on the same streaming services.

If your teen stumbles across it, they'll probably turn it off within 15 minutes anyway. Save yourself the time and watch literally anything else.

Age Fit

Common Sense Media says 14+, and that's about right if you're determined to watch this for some reason. But honestly? There are hundreds of better PG-13 action-comedies. This is for completists of early-2000s Tommy Lee Jones films only.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

A 2005 comedy built around a Texas Ranger moving in with college cheerleaders hits uncomfortable notes by today's standards. The premise itself—older male authority figure living with young women in revealing outfits—feels creepy rather than wholesome. While Tommy Lee Jones plays it straight, the film leans into ogling cheerleaders and tired gender stereotypes. Not emotionally healthy modeling for kids.

Imaginative

Zero originality here. It's a paint-by-numbers fish-out-of-water comedy with the gruff cop + peppy cheerleaders formula that was already stale in 2005. No creative spark, no world-building, no invitation to think differently. The 'undercover as cheerleading coach' premise could have been fun but gets executed with all the imagination of a direct-to-video sequel.

Safe

Common Sense Media rates it 14+, and that tracks. While not explicitly graphic, the entire premise objectifies young women in cheerleading uniforms. There's likely mild violence (it's an action-comedy about protecting witnesses from drug kingpins), sexual innuendo throughout, and the power dynamic of the setup is inherently uncomfortable. No gore or extreme content, but the male-gaze cheerleader focus and formulaic action violence keep this firmly in PG-13 territory with some ick factor.

Enriching

What are you learning here? That cheerleaders are ditzy? That gruff men soften around pretty young women? The film offers zero meaningful takeaways, no skill-building, no empathy development. It's not even entertainingly bad—critics gave it 9% on Rotten Tomatoes for a reason. Audiences were only slightly more generous at 46%. This is empty-calorie entertainment that aged poorly even before it left theaters.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Tommy Lee Jones brings his trademark gruffness and doesn't phone it in completely
If you're nostalgic for mid-2000s action-comedies that nobody remembers, here's one
Short runtime (100 min) means the pain ends relatively quickly

⚠

What to Watch For

The entire premise objectifies college cheerleaders—lots of male-gaze camera work and the women in revealing uniforms
Action violence typical of PG-13 fare (shootouts, chases, drug kingpin plot)
Sexual innuendo and uncomfortable age/power dynamics throughout
Honestly just boring and dated—9% critic score tells you everything

Conversation Starters

"Why do you think this movie got such terrible reviews when it came out?"
"How do you think the cheerleaders are portrayed? Does that seem fair or realistic?"
"What makes a comedy actually funny versus just... awkward?"

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