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 Daddy Day Care (2003)
Rated: PG for language.
Runtime: 91 mins.
Director: Steve Carr
Writer: Geoff Rodkey
Cast: Eddie Murphy; Anjelica Huston....complete cast
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: D-Day is coming
Memorable Quote: "But we need mommy to have fun."
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| Reel commentary: Daddy Day Care wants to be nothing more than a lazy, low budget, potty humor-filled box office draw for the kids whose parents might tag along for the laughs of Eddie Murphy. In this regard, it succeeds..............full review |
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by Frank Wilkins
At what point do we stop looking for Eddie Murphy's next 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop and just realize that his place in this world is voicing donkeys and dragons and starring in the occasionally funny comedy that rakes in in excess of $100 million. Sure, there are the more-often-than-not sprinklings of Pluto Nash and Showtime, but as a box office draw, Eddie Murphy is gold. Sadly, Eddie has elevated himself to the point that people are satisfied with his performance if they receive a few laughs. And Daddy Day Care strives to be nothing more than a vehicle for Eddie Murphy to draw a few laughs and the studios to count their money. But the laughs in this one are few and far between.
Eddie Murphy plays Charlie Hinton, a fast-paced advertising exec whose company's health food division was just dissolved and who has subsequently lost his J-O-B. He is married to a recent law school grad (Regina King) who decided to stay home with the kid but must now go to work. King's role here is mostly a throw away, as she has no real screen time nor desire to develop it into much more than that. After discovering that most of the local day care facilities are run out of trailer parks or crack houses, Charlie enlists the help of a couple of work buddies (Jeff Garlin and Steve Zahn) to start their own day care facility.
The main competition for their entrepreneurial endeavor, and the film's villain (as if the film needed a villain with numerous tyrannical preschoolers) is Ms. Harridan (Anjelica Huston), the Nazi-like headmistress of Chapman Academy where the young scholars learn to recite their lessons in four different languages. Make that five. They start Portuguese in the fall.
Their business is somehow a success and they begin to attract students from Ms. Harridan's facility, which doesn't suit her well. In retaliation, she reports their inefficiencies to the authorities and unleashes her own response in a Cruela de Vil-like fashion.
The story is very simple and formulaic, yet hits home runs with its sub-10-year-old audience. Pee-pee and poo-poo jokes are plentiful as well as booger humor and kindergarten-type antics. None of the performances really stand out since character definition gives way to the fast pace. I laughed exactly five times but there was none of the characteristic sidesplitting humor that we've come to associate with most of Murphy's films. Surprisingly, Murphy is upstaged by the adorable Khamani Griffin, who plays Ben, Charlie and Kim's young son. Murphy seems fine with this and I expect he recognizes the big-time potential that this young actor is sure to realize.
I was a bit excited to learn that Steve Zahn would play Marvin, the inept mail-guy-turned-day-care-employee. I was quite impressed with his performance in Joy Ride, but unfortunately his character was funnier in the horror film than he is in Daddy Day Care. In this film he is relegated to mostly physical humor wearing a rubber carrot suit where his forte is spoken humor.
It's clearly evident that writer Geoff Rodkey chose to dumb the script down to the film's target audience. Perhaps the studios haven't had time yet to realize the lesson we learned from the success of Holes - write a smart, adept script and the audience will miraculously find a way to smarten itself up. There are a few touching moments in Daddy Day Care involving Charlie and his son that make you want to hug your child, and the overall message of the script is admirable. But the film's intentions are neither subtle nor clever and seem overly trite and a bit condescending.
Daddy Day Care wants to be nothing more than a lazy, low budget, potty humor-filled box office draw for the kids whose parents might tag along for the laughs of Eddie Murphy. In this regard, it succeeds.
Parents: Daddy Day Care has a few mild obscenities (hell) and a couple of religious exclamations.
Frank Wilkins
Screen formats: Widescreen Anamorphic 1.85:1; Full Screen 1.33:1.
Language and Sound: English: Dolby Digital 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English; French; Closed Captioned.
Extra Features: Theatrical trailer(s)
• "Meet the DADDY DAY CARE Kids" featurette
• "Quiet on the Set!" featurette
• "Good Morning, Eddie Murphy!" featurette
• "What Did That Kid Say?" featurette
• Name the Noise Maker game
• Kid Card Match Up game
• Odd One Out game
• Blooper reel
• All-new animated short "Early Bloomers"
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
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| Eddie Murphy ......... |
Charlie Hinton |
| Anjelica Huston.......... |
Mrs. Harridan |
| Hailey Noelle Johnson........... |
Becca |
| Susan Santiago ........ |
Sean's Mom |
| Leila Arcieri ........ |
Kelly |
| Joan M. Blair ........ |
Trailer Park Daycare Owner Lacey Chabert |
| Elle Fanning ........ |
Jamie |
| Jeff Garlin.......... |
Phil |
| Brie Hill Arbaugh.......... |
Jamie's Mom Laura Kightlinger |
| Regina King......... |
Kim |
| Michelle Krusiec............ |
English Teacher |
| Parker M. Posey................ |
Georgia |
| Sloane Momsen............... |
Beth-Anne |
| David Powledge................. |
Mr. Carrot |
| Paul Anthony Reynolds........... |
Marty |
| Makenzie Vega............ |
Bridget |
| Steve Zahn .... |
Marvin |
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