Mr. Mom v. Little Children

Occasionally, when people find out that I am a stay-at-home dad, they ask if my life is anything like the 1983 film Mr. Mom starring Michael Keaton. I had never seen the film before so I couldn't really say one way or the other. But so many people have been asking me about it and for so long that I figured maybe it was time to watch Mr. Mom.

I finally got around to watching it this weekend and now I can say for certain that my experience as a stay at home dad is nothing like the way it is portrayed on film. There are some scenes in Mr. Mom I could identify with but really the film had very little to do with being a stay-at-home dad.

The film that most closely resembles my experiences as a stay-at-home dad is Little Children from 2006. There are some difference between me and the stay-at-home character in the film (i.e. no adultery, no child molesters, no crazed ex-cops, etc.) but, all in all, I would say Little Children is a more accurate and honest portrayal than Mr. Mom.