Daddy Day Care (2003)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Steve Carr

Writer (WGA):

Geoff Rodkey (written by)

Release Date:

9 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family

Tagline:

D-Day Is Coming

Plot:

Two men get laid off and have to become stay-at-home dads when they can't find jobs. This inspires them to open their own day-care center.

Plot Keywords:

Father | Day Care Center | Children | Business Rivalry | Product Placement

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 20

10:00 AM

FX

Cast

Eddie Murphy	...	Charlie Hinton
Jeff Garlin	...	Phil
Steve Zahn	...	Marvin
Regina King	...	Kim Hinton
Kevin Nealon	...	Bruce
Jonathan Katz	...	Dan Kubitz
Siobhan Fallon	...	Peggy (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
Lisa Edelstein	...	Crispin's Mom
Lacey Chabert	...	Jenny
Laura Kightlinger	...	Sheila
Leila Arcieri	...	Kelli
Anjelica Huston	...	Mrs. Gwyneth Harridan
Khamani Griffin	...	Ben Hinton
Max Burkholder	...	Max
Arthur Young	...	Nicky

MPAA:

Rated PG for language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Klingon | German

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Switzerland:8 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-3 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G | Germany:o.Al. | Ireland:PG | New Zealand:G | Norway:A | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:6 (canton of the Grisons) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #39497)

Filming Locations:

Glendale, California, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Marvin, a supposedly devout Star Trek fan, says that a Star Trek memorabilia store had "a tricorder used by Ensign Riley in 'The Doomsday Machine'." This is a reference to Kevin Riley, who was a Lieutenant, not an Ensign. He also only appeared in two episodes of the first season of the original series Star Trek, "The Doomsday Machine" episode was produced in the second season of the show.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ben: Good morning, Daddy.
Charlie Hinton: Hey, Ben, how you doing, man?
[yawn]
Charlie Hinton: Oh, God. Daddy's got to get ready for work.
Ben: Can't you stay home?
Charlie Hinton: No, I got a big day at work today. A real big day.

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Soundtrack:

Surrender

Surprisingly Not Bad

Daddy Day Care is a nice family film that is entertaining to watch. Charlie and Phil are so consumed by their advertising jobs that they are completely missing out on the joys of fatherhood. After failing to excite the public about vegetable cereal, Charlie and Phil are fired from their ad jobs. While in search of employment and tending to his four-year-old son Ben during the day while his wife Kim is at work, Charlie has an idea. If he and Phil can handle taking care of two kids, how much harder can it be to supervise ten? Much harder than they ever imagined. But, they will try to manage to pull through and not let Miss Gwyneth Harridan ruin their day care. The plot doesn't sounds great but it does have some potential, Fortunately, it delivered as this is film was actually quite funny. It wasn't over the top funny or Finding Nemo funny but it defiantly can stand on its own. At most times Daddy Day Care may just seem like a film with a bunch of screaming kids and nothing else which isn't true as there are many laughs to be found as well. Eddie Murphy stars and gives quite a funny performance. The real stars of the film though are the little kids. Most of them were funny, some were annoying but they were all tolerable. Regina King plays Kim and she doesn't really appear in the film very much but gives a funny line or two. Steve Zahn was really funny as Marvin. Sure sometimes his character was too stupid to like but it never crosses the line. Anjelica Huston plays the same role I usually see her in, she plays a mean person well but it is tiring seeing her do the same thing. Lacey Chabert has a small but funny role and she is a bit underrated. Jeff Garlin wasn't that good, like when compared to everyone else he was weak and not very funny either. Steve Carr directs and does a decent job, nothing special. I don't know why I liked this movie as much as I did. It was stupid and kind of had a weak story but I still liked it. It does get dull at times, particularly the beginning as it starts off slow but it becomes funnier as the film continues. The running time is 92 minutes so it wouldn't be that much of a punishment to watch. The movie isn't very clever it's a simple film but it does contain enough laughs to entertain most people. Daddy Day Care is also a lot better then The Haunted Mansion. So, if you have a choice between the two, I would go with this one. In the end, this isn't a great film but it might fit the bill if you are in need for a family flick. Rating 6.7/10