Franchise Review- Look Who's Talking

   Thirty years ago, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley were topping the box office for the FIFTH weekend in a row. Yes, believe it or not, Amy Heckerling's talking baby comedy is one of the most successful romcoms that Hollywood has ever produced. I was in elementary school, and believe me when I say, the kids were talking about it. I swear, there was a period when the original was on cable four times a day. That means everyone in America helped change Mikey's diapers, whether they wanted to or not. Join me as I look through my 1989-93 photo album to recap the George H.W. Bush era's unlikeliest franchise.

"Look Who's Talking"(1989)
"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" director Amy Heckerling was compelled to write a semi-autobiographical script about newfound motherhood in the mid-'80s, following the relative disappointment of "National Lampoon's European Vacation"(her heart just wasn't in it). She enlisted the attractive version of Kirstie Alley, then at the height of her "Cheers" fame, to play Mollie, a hot-mess single mom looking for love in NYC. Don't let anyone tell you that this was John Travolta's barren period. The "Saturday Night Fever" stud brings loads of energy and charm to his nice-guy cabbie James, the perfect match for Alley, if only she'd get over George Segal's sleazy sperm donor. The whole idea of a baby offering a running commentary on life around him is a brilliant comic invention, and every uptight critic that disagreed should have handed in their resignation. Bruce Willis was hip and often hilarious as the voice of baby Mikey, and Heckerling never got enough credit for making her voice so loud at the end of the '80s.

Only three movies made more $$$ than "LWT" in '89, and they were all heavily-hyped summer blockbusters- "Batman", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", and "Lethal Weapon 2". A $7 million comedy about a baby and his mother isn't supposed to be in that company. Is this Abe Vigoda's second-best film role, behind "The Godfather"? James' ornery, senile grandpa should have payed us a visit in these next two films.

"Look Who's Talking Too"(1990)
Should Scientologists be raising kids? Heckerling hastily reassembled most of her cast for this cute cash-grab, that probably started filming before the first one reached home video(it's a good thing Travolta still wasn't that busy). If Tom Cruise can make eight "Mission Impossible" movies, then baby Mikey can get a baby sister, voiced by Roseanne Barr, then entering her sitcom peak(sorry, Joan Rivers). Will James and Mollie's marriage survive TWO kids, TWO careers and a gun-toting Elias Koteas? An 82-minute runtime indicates that Heckerling didn't have enough material to turn out more than an extended sitcom. The Toilet-Man? A climactic house fire?? "Too" is simutaneously too much and not enough.

It's fitting that "LWTT" debuted in the same holiday season as "Predator 2", "Rocky V", and "Three Men and a Little Lady"- sequels that aren't all that fondly remembered. Amy would waste her talents for another year on TV's "Baby Talk", before getting out of the baby business altogether. The stars aligned one more time for 1995's "Clueless", arguably her best film. All of her subsequent work, while far from great, has suffered from a demoralizing lack of studio support. When people talk about underappreciated female directors, they're talking about Amy Heckerling.

"Look Who's Talking Now"(1993) The Ubriaccos are back, minus a large paying audience, for this weak third installment of the "Talking" trilogy. That sounds weird. "Now" didn't deserve the voices of Danny DeVito and Diane Keaton(Bruce Willis bailed) as new family pets, the wisecracking mutt Rocks and pampered pooch Daphne. James should have cheated on Mollie to extract himself from this situation, because Travolta's career really was in the doghouse, cleaning up all that dog shit, which only made the "Pulp Fiction" comeback even sweeter. Honestly, I don't hate this movie. I was among the twelve people that saw it in the theater around Thanksgiving. It obviously wasn't enough to cover the $22 million budget. Needless to say, writer-director Tom Ropelewski has a scant Wikipedia page(Heckerling retained an in-name-only producer credit). I should mention that Olympia Dukakis really cashed in on that "Moonstruck" Oscar win, with appearances in all three films. Fun fact- Judd Apatow came up with some uncredited dog jokes and got paid for this, too.

I think the original would get talked about more today if two sequels hadn't sullied it a bit in our collective memories, but this is the money-grubbing movie business we're talking about. Let's be grateful we got one good movie out of this premise. We need more non-animated family films sprinkled with adult humor, that will fly over the heads of the little ones in the room, like those semen special effects. I'll probably never be a father, biological or otherwise, but watching Travolta try to do it may be the next best thing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find MY Mollie. Hopefully, she's not pregnant yet.