Take Her, She's Mine
After reluctantly packing up his daughter, Mollie, and sending her away to study art at a Paris college, Frank Michaelson gives new meaning to the term "concerned parent." Reading Mollie's letters describing her counter-culture experiences and beatnik friends, Frank eventually grows so paranoid that he boards a plane to Paris to see firsthand the kind of lessons his daughter is learning with her new artist amour.
Insights
Plot Summary
A straitlaced, overprotective father sends his daughter off to college, expecting her to focus on her studies and find a suitable husband. However, his visions of her academic and romantic life are wildly different from her actual experiences, which involve more freedom, experimentation, and a certain charming but less-than-ideal boyfriend. The film follows his increasingly frantic attempts to guide and protect her from afar as she navigates newfound independence.
Critical Reception
Upon its release, 'Take Her, She's Mine' was met with mixed reviews, often criticized for its dated and somewhat condescending portrayal of a college student and her father's anxieties. While James Stewart's performance was generally well-regarded for bringing warmth to his character, the film's humor and storyline were frequently seen as predictable and overly sentimental, failing to resonate with critics looking for more modern or insightful themes.
What Reviewers Say
- James Stewart's reliable charm elevates a somewhat formulaic premise.
- The film struggles with a dated perspective on college life and parental control.
- Humor and sentimentality often feel predictable rather than genuinely earned.
Google audience: Audience reception information is not readily available for this film.
Fun Fact
The film was based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by novelist and screenwriter Phyliis McGinley, who based her writing on her own experiences with her daughter.
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