Stoney loves to cook and has worked that passion into his model for helping men. I do too, but there's no sense copying when I have other passions - like musicals. The Happiest Millionaire is one of the first musicals I fell in love with as a kid. I remember watching it on my grandmother's couch every time I'd visit her for a weekend. My kids now sing the songs and it's both humorous and a delight to my ears. More relevant to you: the (inspired by a true story) movie holds a lot of information that's truly valuable for men like you. In fact, it's perhaps the most Red Pill Christian movie I've seen.

If it helps, this is absolutely a safe movie to watch with your wife. Not that it should be your motive, but she might even be impressed by it. (Unfortunately, despite it being a Disney movie, it's not on Disney Plus yet). She might learn a thing or two about how women should behave toward a man (just don't tell her that's why you want to watch it with her). So, let's dive in.


SYNOPSIS - As a brief overview, the movie is based on two real families in the 1910s (Biddles and Dukes), but fictionalizes many aspects. It centers around Anthony Biddle, a rich patriarch of the Biddle family. He's a fitness buff whose highest priorities in life are loving his God, leading his family, and serving his country. While pseudo-fictional, he projects a clear model for a red pilled Christian man. He has a clear mission in life that he pursues relentlessly, but is also humble enough to let it evolve as he learns new things. I like the way Wikipedia describes his wife: "[she] stands quietly by, accepting his eccentricities with a sense of pride and class." His story reflects issues many of us may deal with, while also demonstrating firm leadership and biblical characteristics in the midst of it all. His daughter, Cordy, is a dominant woman who longs to be the submissive wife, but has yet to meet a man who can tame her. She meets Angie, a mama's boy who is generally beta and uninteresting to her until he shows that he has a mission beyond what his mother planned for his life. It takes Anthony's influence for Angie to figure out how to be a man and lead a relationship.

With that framework in mind, let's go through the songs, some notable lyrics, and a general life lesson from each. If you choose to watch the movie for yourself, keep these in mind.


FORTUOSITY - The movie opens with a poor immigrant, John Lawless, fresh off the boat and applying to be a butler with a rich family. While his life may not be great yet, he maintains an amused mastery over every situation - so much so that he dances about with a smile and created his own word for finding amusement in the midst of bad situations: Fortuosity.

  • "Sometimes castles fall to the ground, but that's where four leafed clovers are found"

  • "I don't worry 'cause everywhere I see that every bit of life is lit by fortuosity"

  • "I keep smiling 'cause my philosophy is do your best and leave the rest to fortuosity."

    • Lesson: John's attitude toward life is very much the one I take as well. His frame is positive and upbeat. He doesn't let it shatter when difficulties come his way. In fact, he finds them funny and dances in the face of them. This song is often a reminder to me when I'm having a bad day that I can choose to be happy anyway. Notable verse: Romans 8:28 - "God works all things for the good of those who love him."

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT? - John walks in the front door to some chaos before he can even start his interview. Enter the rich patriarch, Anthony Biddle (played by the fantastic Fred MacMurray) who has just been bitten by one of his pet alligators. Yes, that's how awesome he is. He communicates boundaries and expectations for his family, noting their role at his side as a response to his role as their provider and protector. His daughter, Cordelia (Cordy) joins in and affirms the importance of one's duty not only to their family, but also to God and their country.

  • "I'm a good-hearted husband, I'm generous and kind. No wife could have a life as free of cares. So when a good-hearted husband has been bit, it's only right that his wife should share the agony he bears. What's wrong with that? I want my wife to share my life, what's wrong with that?"

  • "The flag above, the Bible and love - what's wrong with that?"

    • Lesson: Anthony's family knows what his priorities are because he has made it clear through the way he leads them. His daughter does come to his side and reaffirms his values. We should do the same. This song also sets a good example for the broader biblical concepts of headship and support in the family between a husband/father and his wife/kids.

WATCH YOUR FOOTWORK - After the alligator mess is sorted out, a suitor arrives for Cordy, who has been trained by her father as a boxer. Her brothers tease the suitor about her unlady-like dominance, attacking men who cross her boundaries. They eventually knock him out. When he comes to, he runs off and Cordy is upset.

  • "Remember Harry Applegate? ... Thought he was a Romeo. Tried to kiss our sis and, oh! Harry ducked, but too late. Father bought him an upper plate."

  • "Archie Baxter came here twice ... Second date, it was a dance. He grabbed her tight, this was his chance. Cordy only bruised that sport. Father settled it out of court."

  • "Say! Do you remember Harvey Drew? ... While rowing Cordy 'round the lake, a crude advance did Harvey make. A gruesome scene. It happened so fast. Next week they removed the cast."

    • Lesson: Learn what you can about a woman's family situation and life history before getting too close. Be wary of the masculine women, even if they are otherwise physically attractive.

VALENTINE CANDY - Cordy laments over the lost suitor and the fact that she can't keep a boyfriend while punching them all out. She wants to be sweet and submissive, but the dominance and aggression keep coming out when a guy gets too close.

  • "Is a boy meant to spar with, or gaze at a star with? Should you kiss him or blacken his eye?"

  • "Will you someday be someone that somebody loves? Are you valentine candy or boxing gloves?"

    • Lesson: Cordy can't reconcile feminist empowerment with her unhappy love life. She knows that men want sweet and submissive women, but her hypergamy calls for a man who is stronger than she is, who can actually tame her. Will she ever meet this man? This is the predicament many women are in today.

STRENGTHEN THE DWELLING - The patriarch uses his boxing/fitness class as an opportunity to teach people about God and the importance of physical fitness.

  • "Strengthen the dwelling of the Lord. Fashion the framework board by board. Here in his image now we stand. Building His fortress long and grand."

  • "It is written that the body and mind of mortal man should walk in the spirit of His master plan. So we must strengthen the dwelling of the Lord, fashion the framework board by board."

    • Lesson: Anthony models that his motive for staying physically fit is not to keep his wife sexually attracted to him (her frame), but because it is God's dwelling and we owe it to him who owns our bodies (which are not our own) to keep them in good condition. I'm reminded here of the way Israel lamented at the way Jerusalem and its wall fell apart during their captivity in Babylon and that of all possible priorities, when they had the chance in Nehemiah the restoration of their home - particularly strengthening its walls - was their highest priority. Will you let your souls/God's Spirit's dwelling wither the same way?

I'LL ALWAYS BE IRISH - John, the butler, shares with the family that his American identity doesn't take away from his Irish heritage. Once again, amidst the difficulties of working with this family, he maintains the same positive attitude he had in his first song.

  • "I'll wear the greens on Patty's Day, and yet for all of that: I'll be truly as American as Casey At The Bat."

  • "If I went to Paris for the rest of me days, and ate bread and cheese in sidewalk cafes - lived in a garret, wore a beret - what would I be? An Irishman!"

    • Lesson: This song is more comical interlude, but it does remind me of the way we share a common identity in Christ, yet we all have our own unique makeup that defines us as well. Just because we may, under 1 Cor. 9, adapt to a culture to reach the culture, our core identity in Christ remains in tact, even though we also identify with our neighbors inside our own cultural context.

BYE-YUM PUM PUM - Anthony had always raised Cordy in the home through private tutors and trainers. After seeing her distress and loneliness he is persuaded to send her off to boarding school to meet new people. Of course, she shares her boy troubles with her new roommate, who decides to teach her how to seduce a man.

  • "You must slink across the floor as if it's a dreadful bore."

  • "The men in college always acknowledge a girl who dances in a trance. So bye-yum until the dawn as if you're about to yawn."

  • "For when you're oh so mysterioso the men will grow so entranced with you, as you secretly conceal the tingly way you feel."

    • Lesson: There are so many truths about how women engage the sexual marketplace in this song. Perhaps the most emphasized aspect here is the way they conceal what's really going on in their head to get a man on their hook.

ARE WE DANCING - Cordy takes her newfound skills of seduction to a ball, where she meets Angie. He takes Cordy outside for a private dance. He has major oneitis while they sing a duet, setting a bad precedent for the relationship. Cordy, of course, is excited enough just to have someone that new relationship excitement takes over.

  • Angie: "Are your eyes confessing things I alone can see? Or is my imagination flying away with me?" (the latter)

  • Cordy: "Is this feeling something real, or will it disappear?" (questioning if she really likes a guy like this)

    • Lesson: This song is a perfect example of oneitis and embodies everything you should avoid in the start of a new relationship. It's not surprising that immediately after this the relatoinship gets rocky, barely before it even starts.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT? (REPRISE) - Back at the Biddle mansion, Anthony, the patriarch, sees World War 1 coming and decides the country is unprepared, so he adds to his mission that he's going to be the one to train the US Marines to fight.

  • "I believe in this country, but our country's unprepared. Our defenses aren't worth a hill of beans. So when a man loves his country should he sit back and complain or call out the United States Marines?"

    • Lesson: I'm always impressed at Anthony's insistence to take matters into his own hands. He doesn't read the news and complain to his wife about how the country is falling apart. He makes a plan and does something about it. Do likewise.

DETROIT - Cordy quickly realizes that her boyfriend is a loser mama's boy. She presses him about what he's passionate about in life. He says he just assumed he'd take over the family business that he hates. Cordy presses him again and suddenly he starts singing about starting an enterprise in the automobile industry in Detroit.

  • "Golden sparks light up the skies there like a thousand fourth of Julys there. How I want to stake a claim and roll up my sleeves and make my name in Detroit!"

  • "Oh, if I could be there I'd be free there, standing on my own two feet. I'd invent new motors, design new rotors. I'd be in the driver's seat. I'd make all my dreams realities."

  • "Others are giving their dreams a try. If others can dream there, why can't I? Oh, you see where the rainbow ends for me is known to the world as F.O.B. Detroit."

  • Cordy: "If you hear it humming, see it coming - that's the place where you must go. But to make your name there you must stake your claim there and let no one tell you no." Angie: "And my dreams of golden chariots in Detroit can all come true for you hear it humming, and you see it coming and YOU want to be there too."

    • Lesson: The most fascinating part of this song is to see Cordy's demeanor toward Angie change as he starts to develop a life mission. She's excited, but also immediately tests his alphaness. Unfortunately, he's still too stuck in her frame to take ownership of the dream for himself. In my view, this is the central song of the entire movie and shows the utter importance of having a mission.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT (REPRISE 2) - Cordy's education and relationship with Angie takes her away from home a lot and Anthony is sad to see his daughter fading from his life for another man. He doesn't quite trust Angie as being man enough to care for his daughter.

  • "When a man has a daughter, she's always in his heart; her happiness is part of all his prayers. When a man has a daughter, he wants her life to be as smooth as satin ribbons that she wears."

  • "I want her home, where she's free of care. I miss her footsteps on the stairs. What's wrong with that?"

    • Lesson: I'm not afraid to admit that I (to make another "musical" reference) shed "A Single Man Tear" at this song. Why? I have 3 daughters and identify with exactly what is expressed here. It reminds me of what I want to see in their husbands and that, as their father, it is my responsibility to look out for their future spouse the same way Anthony ultimately makes it his responsibility to teach Angie how to be a man for his daughter.

THERE ARE THOSE - Excited by his newly discovered ambitions, Cordy agrees to marry Angie. Unfortunately, Angie lets his mom run the wedding planning process and ultimately tells him he can't go to Detroit because he has to take over the family tobacco business. Cordy is disgusted. Angie's mom and Cordy's aunt get in a fight over which family is better - Cordy's family having inherited/established wealth and Angie's family being among the nuevo riche. John, ever fluent in amused mastery, inserts his wisecraks to create humor in the conflict.

  • Angie's Mom: "There are those who grace the pages of the blue book." Aunt: "Never heard of it. Is it a new book?" Angie's Mom: "Certainly anyone who is anyone is listed." Aunt: "Oh, you mean the New York Telephone Directory."

  • Aunt: "There are those whose names predate the constitution." Angie's Mom: "Yes, and some of them opposed the revolution."

    • Lesson: There really isn't one, other than to appreciate John's playfulness in the midst of a tense situation, which is a passable example of both maintaining frame and amused mastery (though not necessarily in a romantic relational context).

LET'S HAVE A DRINK ON IT - After discovering Angie's submission to his mother, Cordy calls off the wedding. Angie is depressed and goes to a bar. Anthony sends John to keep Angie out of trouble. Angie keeps threatening to run away to another country, so John, while getting him drunk, helps Angie realize they're all half-baked bad ideas to run away from his troubles, not his real mission/passion. As Angie is about to leave, John tricks him into getting into a bar fight to get him arrested so he can't actually run away.

  • Angie: "Well, well, well, let's have a drink on it. Here's to China across the bay - to them darling little oysters and the pearls they give away. A man could make his fortune there. I will somehow! No shilly-shallying, no dilly-dallying. I'm off to China now!"

  • Bar: "Well, well, well, one last drink on it, then you're on your merry way." John: "What do you do when your sampan springs a leak in China Bay?" Bar: "When the truth is nobly spoken, it's respect you've got to pay." John: "If Oriental pirates come to take your pearls away?!" Bar: "So fill your cup and lift it up and clink, here's how! No shilly-shallying, no dilly-dallying. Let's have a drink on it now."

    • Lesson: The point of the song is that life can screw you over no matter what you try to do - go into the army, run away to China, or even try to live a simple, common life in America. John explains all of this to trick Angie out of making any drastic decisions, but ultimately we have to realize that the possibility of things going wrong shouldn't keep us from actually making a plan and carrying it out or else we'll be left with no options left in life at all.

ENDING/FINALE - Angie gets visited in prison by Cordy and her dad, Anthony. Anthony speaks with Angie privately, uses some reverse psychology, and eventually explains to him how to be a man and pass a fitness test. This is the scene where the patriarch's wisdom finally gets through to Angie, who becomes his own man, commits to his mission, and carries Cordy off with him (literally). The conversation is too good - I have to give it in its entirety.

  • Anthony: "Young man, it's time that you woke up to your responsibilities. Now I want you to get this marriage over, and your honeymoon in the Ozarks, then report back to your desk in New York."

  • Angie: "What?"

  • Anthony: "You may think you want other things for yourself. You may have some dreams of your own. But you have to get over all of that the way other people do."

  • Angie: "Huh? You didn't get over it."

  • Anthony: "There are few like me." [The "I am the prize" mentality is just oozing in this scene!]

  • Angie: "Now you listen here, Mr. Know-It-All-Biddle. No one is going to run my life for me. I've decided that much. [Feeling his head] Hangover or no hangover."

  • Anthony: "Is that so?"

  • Angie: "Yes, that is so."

  • Anthony: "Alright, Mr. Duke. The [jail] door is open. Let's see you have a try at running your own life. Let's see how far you can go. Hangover or no hangover."

  • Angie (getting determined): "I am going to ask Cordy to elope with me today!"

  • Anthony: "Now wait a minute."

  • Angie: "And don't you try to stop me!"

  • Anthony: "Let me tell you one thing. If you ask Cordy to elope, she won't."

  • Angie: "Then I'll tell her."

  • Angie's Mom: "Angie!" with her arms open wide for him.

  • Angie: "Hello, Mother," walking right on by. "Cordy, you and I are going to elope."

  • Angie's Mom: "Over my dead body!"

  • Angie: "Only if absolutely necessary, Mother. Cordy, we'll stop by your house and pick up your things."

  • Cordy: "No."

  • Angie: "Why?"

  • Cordy: "Because I think he talked you into it," pointing to her dad.

  • Angie: "Cordy, I love you and want to marry you and he's got nothing to do with that."

  • Cordy: "I'm not so sure about that."

  • Angie: picks Cordy up over his shoulder and walks right out of the prison. "So long everybody, we'll write you!"

  • Angie's Mom: "Oh, Angie, where are you going?"

  • Angie and Cordy (still being carried over his shoulder) reprise his song "Detroit"

  • Angie's Mom: "You know, for a minute, he reminded me of his grandfather - started the whole Duke thing."

  • Anthony: "Well, if he's half the man I think he is this won't be the end of the whole Duke thing either."


EPILOGUE/IT WON'T BE LONG 'TIL CHRISTMAS - With the kids out of the house, Anthony and his wife reflect on having an empty house. He misses his children as his wife consoles him that children are meant to grow up and become their own people, but they will still be a part of the family and come home for Christmas.

  • Anthony's Wife: "Little birds were born to fly. Not until they roam can they miss their home"

  • Anthony: "The years go by and every night you say, 'Sweet dreams. Sleep tight.' Then comes the day you have to say, 'Don't forget to write.'"

Lesson: This song is a powerful reminder of an essential foresight in the familiy-building and discipleship processes. Your goal is not to draw people to your side forever, as is the common pastoral model of leading others in the faith. Rather, it is to send them out after you've raised them to be mature adults.


CONCLUSION

While there are many great movies out there that can show you snapshots of what it means to be a red pilled man, there are few that incorporate the Christian element as well. I recommend this movie not as a perfect example (certainly there are flaws throughout), but as a solid starting point and good conversation starter with your spouse, who might see by example rather than your verbal explanation, a happier way of living if we stick to biblical boundaries and principles for our marriages today.