Three Men and a Little Lady
James Newton Howard
" Three Men and a little Theme "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Three Men and a Baby was a real box office champ in 1987, earning a whopping 170 million dollars alone in the USA, which is not bad considering it did cost only about 10 million to make. Anyway it made stars of Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson (if they weren't already stars to begin with). Of course as Hollywood goes, sequels tend to rise once something is successful. And even though 3 Men and a Little Lady is considered to be even inferior, I think it's a darn funny movie nonetheless (god I love Ted Danson as the priest). After director Leonard Nimoy gave Marvin Hamlish the job to score for babies, it was director Emile Ardolino who gave James Newton Howard the choice to score for a little girl instead.
The soundtrack of Hollywood Records starts with a couple of songs from the movie. they are all typical songs from the era, with the unmistakable beats and sounds. My favorite take is "Waiting for a Star to Fall" (underscoring the end of the film) while the most funny one is the rap the 3 men do in the begin of the film. "Three Men Rap" is a little more pumped here, as now instruments and a couple of SFX are added for your listening pleasure.
The score itself of Newton Howard begins with a children's lullaby that transforms to the first main theme performance in "The Big Goodbye". It sets the tone for the rest of the material, with enough cliche's on board as well. The soft sweetness in "Where will you Live" is lovely, the national anthem of Britain rules in "To England" while a dark Gothic fanfare represents the evil "Pileforth" (better watch out for the zany Elfman violin too). The main theme returns before that on piano in "Peter & Sylvia in Dressing Room" while it appears charming on strings in "Peter's Proposal". There's even a dash of heroism in the short "Motorcycle Montage".
Even though the representation of James Newton Howard is nothing but a culmination of one short cue after another, it does bring the time to represent the lovely sound in "He Doesn't Like Me", the same for the piano bringing the theme in "Rainmaker" all the while "Sylvia to Theater" delivers a bouncy aftertouch so accustomed to the James Newton Howard voice of back then. The lovely tinkling main theme in "Peter's Plan" and its blossoming counterpart in "What About your Needs" are enough to close the score with.
So okay 3 Men and a Little Lady might not represent some of James Newton Howard's more spectacular material, it does deliver a nice charming little score that functions well enough outside the film to warrant its own CD release. Okay, the songs were probably the only reason this score was ever released, but at least half of James Newton Howard's written score wasn't forgotten in the outcome. So I would recommend this release only to those that think having everything of James Newton Howard is their only reason left in life.
Score: ***
Songs: ***
Tracklisting
1. Always Thinking of You: Donna DeLory (4.05)
2. Dance: David Baerwald (4.07)
3. Waiting For a Star to Fall: Boy Meets Girl (4.29)
4. Three Men Rap: Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg & Ted Danson (1.09)
5. Talkin': Najee (5.50)
6. Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight: Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg & Ted Danson (1.04)
7. The Big Goodbye (3.05)
8. The Wharf (0.52)
9. Where Will You Live (1.14)
10. To England (1.04)
11. Peter & Sylvia in Dressing Room (2.28)
12. Pileforth (0.49)
13. Peter's Proposal (1.15)
14. Motorcycle Montage (0.40)
15. He Doesn't Like Me (1.36)
16. The Wedding Tent (0.26)
17. Rainmaker (1.24)
18. Sylvia to Theater (1.04)
19. Peter's Plan (2.37)
20. What About Your Needs (1.29)
Total Length: 40.57
The soundtrack of Hollywood Records starts with a couple of songs from the movie. they are all typical songs from the era, with the unmistakable beats and sounds. My favorite take is "Waiting for a Star to Fall" (underscoring the end of the film) while the most funny one is the rap the 3 men do in the begin of the film. "Three Men Rap" is a little more pumped here, as now instruments and a couple of SFX are added for your listening pleasure.
The score itself of Newton Howard begins with a children's lullaby that transforms to the first main theme performance in "The Big Goodbye". It sets the tone for the rest of the material, with enough cliche's on board as well. The soft sweetness in "Where will you Live" is lovely, the national anthem of Britain rules in "To England" while a dark Gothic fanfare represents the evil "Pileforth" (better watch out for the zany Elfman violin too). The main theme returns before that on piano in "Peter & Sylvia in Dressing Room" while it appears charming on strings in "Peter's Proposal". There's even a dash of heroism in the short "Motorcycle Montage".
Even though the representation of James Newton Howard is nothing but a culmination of one short cue after another, it does bring the time to represent the lovely sound in "He Doesn't Like Me", the same for the piano bringing the theme in "Rainmaker" all the while "Sylvia to Theater" delivers a bouncy aftertouch so accustomed to the James Newton Howard voice of back then. The lovely tinkling main theme in "Peter's Plan" and its blossoming counterpart in "What About your Needs" are enough to close the score with.
So okay 3 Men and a Little Lady might not represent some of James Newton Howard's more spectacular material, it does deliver a nice charming little score that functions well enough outside the film to warrant its own CD release. Okay, the songs were probably the only reason this score was ever released, but at least half of James Newton Howard's written score wasn't forgotten in the outcome. So I would recommend this release only to those that think having everything of James Newton Howard is their only reason left in life.
Score: ***
Songs: ***
Tracklisting
1. Always Thinking of You: Donna DeLory (4.05)
2. Dance: David Baerwald (4.07)
3. Waiting For a Star to Fall: Boy Meets Girl (4.29)
4. Three Men Rap: Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg & Ted Danson (1.09)
5. Talkin': Najee (5.50)
6. Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight: Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg & Ted Danson (1.04)
7. The Big Goodbye (3.05)
8. The Wharf (0.52)
9. Where Will You Live (1.14)
10. To England (1.04)
11. Peter & Sylvia in Dressing Room (2.28)
12. Pileforth (0.49)
13. Peter's Proposal (1.15)
14. Motorcycle Montage (0.40)
15. He Doesn't Like Me (1.36)
16. The Wedding Tent (0.26)
17. Rainmaker (1.24)
18. Sylvia to Theater (1.04)
19. Peter's Plan (2.37)
20. What About Your Needs (1.29)
Total Length: 40.57