Three Men and a Cradle

Three bachelors sharing a flat in Paris find a baby left at their door one morning. The note says the father is one of them but not which, and that one happens to be out of the country. The remaining two begin knowing nothing, from bottles to nappies. Coline Serreau builds the comedy on the idea that fatherhood is a thing that can be learned, and toward the end she drops the humour and lets attachment take over. A package of drugs that gets mixed in keeps the plot moving. It was the most watched film in France in 1985, was nominated for the foreign film Oscar, and was remade in Hollywood two years later. Who it is for: viewers who like eighties French comedy and stories about people softening. Who it is not for: anyone uncomfortable with how the period handles gender roles.