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It’s interesting that as Mother’s Day approaches, some of the things
most fathers like to do is give the mother of their child or children
a day of rest and comfort. Gifts may come in the form of a nice
spa treatment or a vacation on an exotic island or a day without
doing the daily household chores. Taking the latter statement aside,
dads could go further by taking their kids to go see Eddie Murphy
play the All-American dad in Daddy Day Care, a hilarious
family film that should please all.
Charlie Hinton (Murphy) and his co-worker Phil (Garlin) are advertising
salesmen who get laid off when they can’t sell commercials geared
for kids. This should be a relief for Charlie’s wife Kim (King),
who sees this as a chance for Charlie to spend more time with his
son Ben (Griffin). Along with the layoff is the fact that Charlie
has watch his savings and realizes he can’t afford to send Ben to
the day care center run by Miss Harridan (Huston). Harridan runs
a tight ship at her center and this is too strict for Charlie for
he recruits Phil to start their own day care center. Using his house
as the center, most folks are reluctant to send trust the two men
with kids until one of the moms in the neighborhood does. Soon enough,
Charlie and Phil have 10 kids in their care and find that the idea
wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be. When Miss Harriman starts
losing kids to the guys, she sends an inspector to make sure they
are breaking child care laws. Some of the kids have their own identity.
One of the kids won’t take off his “Flash” costume, another bribes
one of the dads for money for silence; and one kid is so rude, he
kicks the legs of Charlie to get attention. Needing help, Charlie
and Phil bring in Marvin, a not so bright man on the outside, but
the talents to take care of the kids. Marvin also happens to be
a big sci-fi fan, and his Star Trek gimmicks come in handy. With
the house getting fuller everyday with more kids, the guys have
more than fair share of work cut out for them.
Daddy Day Care is a very funny film that will cater to all
families. Predictable from start to finish, the film has a fine
execution. Eddie Murphy, who’s usually the center of attention in
most of his films, is taking a back seat here. Although he has his
moments of comedic flair, he realizes this film is really for kids
and let’s them have most of the funniest gags. Garlin, co-star of
HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, shows some spunk as he uses tender humor
to illustrate laughs. Zahn is a natural. Huston, not really known
for her comedic skills, just goes along for the ride adding her
Miss Crabtree skills to the film. None of the kids really stand
out because they are all exceptional. At a time when comic book
heroes and favorite TV characters are coming back to the big screen,
it’s nice to see a film where kids can come and enjoy themselves.
Parents may wish for a film that gives them pleasure as well, and
Daddy Day Care will certainly do that, as Eddie Murphy and
the kids are marvelously entertaining.
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