The transition does not go smoothly for Ben, as he resentfully feels he is the one suffering all of the adjustments and that his mother is making the same mistake she made with his father, so he resorts to ensuring Jack is as uncomfortable and unwelcome as possible. Jack is confident he can win him over, telling Sandy he has read every book on step-parenting he could find.
#WATCH MAN OF THE HOUSE (1995) TRIAL#
Sandy and Jack discuss his moving in, of which eleven-year-old Ben (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) does not approve despite his mother’s reassurance that it’s only a trial period. After court is adjourned, Frank’s son Joey rephrases the threat in a more intimidating manner, but Jack doesn’t back down and then dismisses him entirely. Before being sentenced to fifty years in federal prison at Sheridan, Frank makes a veiled threat of revenge towards Sturges. In the Seattle Federal Court House, Jack successfully prosecutes criminal Frank Renda for drug trafficking.
Five years later, however, Sandy decides she’s ready for marriage again, and begins seriously dating U.S. Sandy develops an interest in dating, but her suitors never fit well and don’t last long, which allows Ben’s ideal relationship with his mother to resume. They gradually overcome his father leaving and foster a very close bond with important rituals and routines, including making a collage with beach debris. Sandy makes creative efforts to turn it into a home for them. They’re both upset, but they decide to have a fresh start, so they move into a downtown loft apartment to begin a new life with just the two of them. Ben’s father promised to visit him, yet never comes back. His mother, Sandy (Farrah Fawcett), can only watch heartbroken from the window of their house as her ex-husband leaves them. Six-year-old Ben Archer watches silently as his father starts up his car and drives away with his secretary, and they both offer only a wave out the window in parting.