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Getting Even With Dad (1994)

Directed by:
Howard Deutch
COUNTRY
USA

GENRE
Comedy

NORWEGIAN TITLE
Getting Even with Dad

RUNNING TIME
104 minutes

Produced by:
Katie Jacobs
Written by:
Tom S. Parker
Jim Jennewein


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Timmy Gleason Macaulay Culkin ½
Ray Gleason Ted Danson
Detective Theresa Walsh Glenne Headly
Bobby Saul Rubinek -
Carl Gailard Sartain -
Lt. Romayko Hector Elizondo -

 

Review

Getting Even With Dad tries to bite off a lot more than it can chew – serious drama, sentimental tearjerker, silly comedy – all hinged on Macaulay Culkin's in all honesty limited acting talent. Had the filmmakers chosen either path, for instance a clear-cut drama, this could have been really interesting, perhaps even poignant, something in the vein of last year's American Heart. Because there is potential in the relation between the criminal father and the neglected son longing for affection. Getting Even With Dad is a good example of how the script itself doesn't necessarily decide how well a film works. Because the main reason for this failure is an ill-fated angle, along with the fact that Culkin, Ted Danson and director Howard Deutch lack the ability to make up for its deficit.

Copyright © 20.6.1996 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang
(English version: © 30.12.2023 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang)