While many will remember Leonard Nimoy, who died at 83 on Friday, as the logical Vulcan known as Spock, I've personally always connected more with his 1987 directorial project, Three Men and a Baby.
Starring Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg and a baby, the film is a nostalgic wonderland of '80s culture.
My first viewing left me with a lot of questions: Why are these three wealthy, thirty-something men still living together? Why is Jack having large amounts of heroin delivered to his residence? And, again, why exactly are they living together?
For whatever reason, Three Men and a Baby's ridiculous plot works. "Yes, this makes sense," you'll think, as the film about three men learning to care for a baby delves into the violent world of narcotics and extortion. "This is what would happen if three men cared for a baby for a few months."
Did we mention that a popular theory about Three Men and a Baby is that there is the ghost of a dead boy in the background of this scene? No, really.
Heroin subplot aside, the ensemble team of Selleck, Danson, Guttenberg and Nancy Travis works perfectly. The film is legitimately hilarious, touching and also happened to be the highest grossing film of 1987.
Its strong and earnest stance on dissolving gender roles in the middle of a period of over-the-top macho Hollywood action films has helped it age extremely well in terms of theme and comedy.
For Nimoy, who was sometimes frustrated early in his career for being known first and foremost as the pointy-eared Vulcan, Three Men and a Baby is a testament to his skill as a comedic director.
More than just Spock, Nimoy was a master of directing comedy.
BONUS: Kevin Bacon Explains the '80s to Millennials
[brightcove video=3862565621001]