It's not unwelcome, once in a while, to find a movie that's not self-important at all, that doesn't want to explain or change the world, but simply wants to give you a good time. That doesn't mean, however, that such a movie should have a story so thin that it can be effectively summed up in a 2-minute opening credits animated sequence! As a comedy, "Man Trouble" has a few hearty laughs, but way too few, as a romance it is predictable, and as for the "mystery" of Ellen Barkin's stalker, you'll know who it is before it is revealed. The movie has a great cast, but it's mostly underutilized: Barkin's role is somewhat of a change-of-pace (she usually plays more assertive and confident women), while Jack Nicholson's good-hearted scoundrel is a more familiar turn. ** out of 4.

I love Ellen Barkin, 'deed I do, but even she cannot make the romance with Jack Nicholson believable here. Even back in 1992, Nicholson was TOO OLD to play a romantic lead with a woman seventeen years his junior.I was getting the creeps watching this in the fall of 2008, and suddenly I realized why. The pairing reminds me of John McCain and his trophy wife, Cindy. McCain: born 1936. Nicholson: born 1937. Cindy and Barkin: both born 1954.It's obnoxious, the way Hollywood continues to indulge Nicholson (and, presumably, equally elderly male producers and writers) with this assumption that an audience can believe gorgeous young women will fall all over him. Oh, spare me. And start giving actresses Nicholson's own age parts like the plums HE gets, or at least, parts playing his love interest.I like dogs, I like Ellen Barkin, and that's why I was able to endure the movie at all, though I was embarrassed for her being stuck with such a ludicrous part - and one which, in a movie meant to be funny, failed to take full advantage of her talent for comedy, especially her considerable physical comedy chops.Also loved Lauren Tom as the Nicholson's wife! Again, the age difference is severe - Tom was born in 1961, making her fully 24 years younger than Nicholson and his character - but Tom's put-on accent (she was born in Chicago) and Nicholson's overall sleaziness suggest that she's a mail-order bride struggling to make the best of a groom who calls her "Iwo Jima." Tom, like Barkin, deserves better writing than this.One star for Barkin, one star for Tom, and one star for the dog. Zero stars for the rest of it, particularly casting Nicholson and for the overly-complex plot lines.

I'm a huge fan of Ellen Barkin. She's just soooo cute. Nicholson usually provides one with good entertainment value. But even they couldn't rescue this one. It really wasn't very funny, and not all that romantic. I understand Nicholson has/had a certain charisma that overcame his looks when he was in his 30's and 40's. But I just can't see Barkin's character falling for him. Not believeable. Worth seeing for fans of Barkin, but even they will know it's not very good. Grade: D-

If it were not for great acting skillings by Ellen Barkin and Beverly D'Angelo, this film would never have been produced, they held up the leading male actor and the dog stole the show from everyone.This had to be the worst film of 1992, no laughs for me at all.