Man of the House is a 1995 American comedy film starring Chevy Chase, Farrah Fawcett, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. The film is about a boy (Thomas) who must come to terms with his potential stepfather (Chase), a well meaning lawyer who is unknowingly the subject of a manhunt by relatives of a man he helped land in prison. It was shot in Los Angeles, California and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

A soundtrack by Walt Disney Records was scheduled to coincide with the film's release, but never came to fruition due to the fact Disney could not procure the rights to several of the songs for a soundtrack release, most notably C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat" and Enigma's "Return to Innocence". Despite this, "Hit the Road Jack", a song by R&B artist Percy Mayfield, was cleared for release on the soundtrack that, ultimately, never made it to market.

The soundtrack was advertised on promotional materials from mid 1994 to the beginning of 1995. "Return to Innocence (Short Version)" was used in Jack and Sandy's wedding during the film, "Return to Innocence (Single Version)" was to be used on the unreleased Man of the House soundtrack, and "Return to Innocence (380 Midnight Mix)" was used in the two Man of the House promo television spots.

Reception
The film was panned by critics, and has a rating of 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 14 reviews.

Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman awarded the film a D+, describing it as a "a lethargic family comedy" and castigating Chase's acting abilities, remarking that "as a performer, Chase hasn't lost his air of foggy detachment; he still delivers his lines as if he were reading them off a TelePrompTer mounted somewhere in the next room. This time, though, he attempts to pass off his deadpan quizzicality as concern. It's an eerie sight. I mean, does anyone really want to watch Chevy Chase try to be heartwarming? He had more conviction reporting the death of Franco."[2]

Jonathan Taylor Thomas (né Weiss; born September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on Home Improvement and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 animated feature film The Lion King and Pinocchio in New Line Cinema's 1996 film The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Early life and education
Thomas was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Sacramento, California, and then to Los Angeles.[1]

Thomas's uncle was playwright and actor Jeff Weiss.[2] Thomas has Pennsylvania Dutch and Portuguese ancestry.[3][4]

In 2000, Thomas graduated with honors from Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills, California.[5][6]

Upon graduation, he enrolled at Harvard University, where he studied philosophy and history and spent his third year abroad at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.[7]

In 2010, he graduated from the Columbia University School of General Studies.[8]

Career
Television
Thomas began his television career in 1990, playing the role of Kevin Brady, the son of Greg Brady, on The Bradys, a spin-off of the 1970s TV show The Brady Bunch. In 1991, Thomas appeared in three episodes of Fox's sketch comedy series In Living Color. That same year, he was cast as middle son Randy Taylor on ABC's sitcom Home Improvement. Despite looking much younger, in reality, Thomas was a month older than Zachary Ty Bryan who played his elder brother Brad. Thomas remained with Home Improvement well into his teenage years but left the show in 1998 to focus on academics.

In early 2004, Thomas had a small guest role on 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, another ABC sitcom, and appeared in the WB's Smallville in 2002 and 2004. In 2005, he appeared in UPN's high school detective drama Veronica Mars and was also featured on The E! True Hollywood Story's episode on Home Improvement.[9]

On March 22, 2013, Thomas guest-starred on the second-season finale of his third ABC sitcom, Last Man Standing, and again in the fourth episode of the third season on October 11, 2013, reuniting with Tim Allen, his TV father from Home Improvement.[10] On January 10, 2015, he once again guest-starred on the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Last Man Standing, this time as Randy, reuniting with his TV parents from Home Improvement, Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson.[11]

Film
Thomas appeared in many films during and after his run on Home Improvement. He had a few roles as a voice actor in his child years, including Disney's animated feature The Lion King, in which he voiced the protagonist Simba as a cub.

He also appeared in live-action films. Among the ones he starred in are those from Disney: Man of the House, Tom and Huck, and I'll Be Home for Christmas. Other live-action films starring Thomas are an adaptation of The Adventures of Pinocchio (in which he played and voiced the titular character), Wild America, Speedway Junky, and Walking Across Egypt.

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