‘Have you seen…’ is my way of recommending something to watch, maybe something you have missed. Usually there are 2 movies and some sort of link. Originally these were posted to individual Pages, But I am updating the menus and so they are being redone as posts. Feel Free to comment and chime in with your thoughts on the picks.
Just to get it out of the way, of course you’ve seen this guy. This is Ted Danson. Ted has had a very successful career it seems. But in feature films, he gets mentioned or referenced more than he gets actual roles. One of the best was in Doc Hollywood with Michael J. Fox. I remember someone in a restaurant is overheard asking “Is that a celebrity?”, and the answering voice replies, “No, that’s Ted Danson.”
Yup. Sightings of Ted are little moments of triumph for starving actors and actresses everywhere, just trying to break through. You go, Ted.
3 Men and a Baby (1987)
Everyone agrees the absolute high point in Ted’s career, so far, was just how unbelievably lucky he was to be cast alongside Sir Steve Guttenberg in 3 Men and a Baby. Originally cast as the baby, Ted was nearly cut and had to settle for the role of ‘Third Banana’ after the role of the baby was recast as a MacGuffin.
The film almost never saw the light of day, either. About to be put into turnaround, ‘3 Men…’ was eventually saved by the President of the United States (who needed a turkey for the annual Thanksgiving Day pardon) and was released on 25 November, 1987.
Ted was solely responsible, in Moby’s opinion, for turning a film budgeted at around $11Million into a domestic blockbuster bringing in over $167Million domestically.
That Other Guy, Sir Steve Guttenburg, and Third Banana holding the film’s titular MacGuffin
Yeah, $167Million was a lot back then, ‘3 Men…’ was the highest grossing film of the year in 1987. Good thing too, because they still had to pay Steve and that Other Guy. In fact it is the highest-grossing remake of a French film in North American box office history, leading some to wonder once again why the French do not simply film in English like a civilized society to begin with? I think I am noticing a pattern…
In a historic move of shear genius, the filmmakers replaced the MacGuffin with a slightly different model and re-shot the whole thing, making another $70Million. They even let Ted in on the joke.
However the joke may have just backfired. It seems the original MacGuffin had a clause in it’s contract, leading to rumors of an out-of-court settlement involving a second re-shoot, now 20 years later, to be titled ‘Three Men and a Bride’.
A Fine Mess (1986)
Ted gets the role of a lifetime, starring opposite Ally Sheedy in this sequel to Maid to Order. Directed by Blake Edwards, Ted plays the role of ‘Spence’.The plot involves a horse racing fix that Spence and Ally find out about and figure they can leverage into some easy cash.
Moby hopes they can pull it off, because this film is not going to be raking it in at the box office. A Fine Mess grossed only about $6Million, ending Ally Sheedy’s career and sadly dooming Ted to minor television roles for more than a decade.
Every now and then the debate ignites, again, on the many niche Hollywood blogs that follow Danson over whether or not it could have been worse. For the record, Moby has no opinion on the matter, and refuses to take sides.
