Man Of The House review

The Man is Texas Ranger Tommy Lee Jones; the House belongs to the five college cheerleaders he's assigned to protect after they witness a killing. Alas, director Stephen Herek doesn't do nearly enough with his appealing high concept, stumbling from one strained set-piece to another in search of the comic alchemy such an unlikely combination should by rights produce.

Perhaps it's Tommy Lee's fault: his underplaying looks suspiciously like boredom and there's precious little chemistry between his by-the-book lawman and his troublesome charges. Or it could be the screenplay, which starts off as a violent actioner before taking an abrupt turn into fish-out-of-water farce. Yes, there's fun to be had watching Jones buy tampons, but it's strange to see him lecture on the evils of plagiarism in a movie that feels like the bastard lovechild of Bring It On and Kindergarten Cop.