Plot
Michael Chapman was once a successful child actor on the popular sitcom Life With Mikey but, like many child actors, was unable to stretch that success into adulthood. These days, he is a partner at the Chapman & Chapman Talent Agency with his brother Ed, representing child talent. However, the agency is struggling since Michael largely doesn't take the job seriously and often clashes with their most successful client, the vain and egotistical commercial actor Barry Corman. One day, while walking down the street, Michael bumps into a young girl named Angie Vega. After realizing she stole his wallet, Michael chases her. She escapes but is shortly caught trying to lift another wallet and puts on an impromptu acting display to talk her way out of trouble. Michael joins in her act and, after the crowd disperses, immediately offers to represent her. She initially runs away but meets up with him later and returns his wallet and accepts his offer. Crashing a callback audition for a Sunburst Cookies commercial, Michael charms his way into getting Angie an audition. Angie surprises company president Mr. Corcoran by giving a tirade about his hunting trophies and the casting director offers Michael and Angie the job on the spot. Michael later stops by Angie's house, where she lives with her older sister and her sister's boyfriend, to drop off the contract. Angie refuses to let him in but later drops by his apartment with the signed contract and then promptly talks her way into moving in with Michael. The two initially clash due to Michael's unkempt habits and Angie's more tidy nature and even more so when Michael forces Angie to go back to school. The day before her commercial shoot, Angie gets into a fight at school and gets a black eye. Initially dismayed, Corcoran decides to proceed after Angie spins a tale about the fight being over Angie defending Sunburst Cookies. Despite some initial struggles, Angie manages to shoot a wonderful commercial. Returning home that night, Angie passes out from exhaustion. Afterwards, Michael and Angie start to bond. Michael is later called into Angie's school when Angie gets into another fight. The teacher informs Michael that Angie started the fight because she has a crush on the other student, Evan, and acts out at school because she's lonely and doesn't know how to relate to other kids. Michael decides to throw Angie an impromptu birthday party with the other kids at the agency and invites Evan, even taking everyone to a wrestling match where the wrestlers and the crowd sing "Happy Birthday to You" and put on a staged match with Michael. The jubilation is short lived, however, when Corcoran's attorney informs Ed and Michael that Angie's older sister is not her legal guardian as Angie had told them but it is instead her father, Richard, who is alive and in a rehab facility upstate. Corcoran demands that Richard sign the contracts so he can air Angie's commercials and threatens to hold the Chapmans legally responsible if they fail to do so. Michael visits Richard, who expresses regret for not being there for his daughters after his wife died and his desire to return to his family before signing the contracts. Michael returns home and confronts Angie about her father, leading an upset Angie to leave Michael's apartment and return home to her sister. Shortly afterwards, Michael arrives at the agency to learn that Barry has been poached by a rival agent and Ed, fed up with trying to keep the agency afloat, has decided to take a job with their uncle. Michael then learns that Angie has been arrested for shoplifting from an uptown department store. Michael goes to collect her and learns that she was caught trying to shoplift Christmas presents for her sister and for Michael after her sister's boyfriend stole her pay from the commercial. They are both surprised when Angie's first commercial finally airs on television and the store security staff decides to let her go. When Angie learns that the agency is closing, she arranges a date with Barry and then strongarms him into returning to Chapman & Chapman, surprising Ed and Michael during an impromptu birthday party she throws for the latter. Ed announces he still plans to leave the agency until a new talent, Kimberly, shows up to audition. She starts off singing in a meek, quiet voice but, with Michael's encouragement, begins to belt out the song so beautifully that Ed agrees to stay and run the agency with Michael. The film then ends with Michael, Ed and all the kids throwing cake at Barry after he makes another egotistical comment. ==Cast==
Production
Marc Lawrence came up with the premise for
Life with Mikey after reflecting on his five years working as a writer and supervising producer on
Family Ties and decided to write a screenplay about a character in a similar transitional stage in their career. Producer
Scott Rudin became involved with the project in 1989. After completing
For Love or Money, Fox exercised an option in his contract with
Universal Pictures allowing him to work with an outside studio and accepted the offer from Disney.
Christina Vidal was not cast until two weeks before production was slated to commence. ==Reception==