Getting Even with Dad

Getting Even with Dad

Awful story about a smart-a$$ed kid (Macaulay Culkin) who goes to live with his crook of a father (Ted Danson) and ends up stealing his father's (and accomplices') stash of money they've stolen from a bank. He promises to give it back if his dad hangs out with him and treats him like most sons.

There's a lot of feuding between father and son in this dismal and unfortunate tale that tries to prove kids are smarter than their parents and can control them with a bit of blackmail. If this movie had been released thirty years ago...I can only imagine what parents would have done to the copies.

Besides, apart from the stupid message of the film, it's just a bad movie. Macaulay Culkin has finally outgrown his childhood and for once the critics started to notice he couldn't act (like he ever could! He got lucky with "Home Alone"--it was good because of Pesci and the rest of the cast, not him). Danson is equally annoying in the role of his father, who seems to have been born without a personality. Yes, Danson is very watered down in this movie. To be honest, I don't blame him--this is the type of stuff that belongs on made-for-TV movies. You know your career has hit rock-bottom when you're in something like this.

And just think, this was made somewhere around ten years ago.

What a disaster.

* / *****

I loved this movie,I thought ted danson was excellent playing that self centered father,and culkin once again does a great job with playing a smarty.I also loved the fact that it was filmed on location in san francisco at places such as embarcadero bart station,chinatown,the aquarium,and golden gate park.

I've always thought Macaulay Culkin's performance in `Getting Even With Dad' is his best one together with `Home Alone'. It's a shame he's been out of scene in the last years, what forces us to go for his old films.

Culkin's partner in the movie is Ted Danson, who again shows he can do his part in comedies, like he did in `Three Men and a Baby'. Danson's a thief who now has to deal with an unexpected problem: his ex-wife leaves their son (Culkin) with him once he hasn't looked after him for years. The boy wants some attention from his dad, so he hides the coins his father has stolen before he could use it. If the thief wants his coins back, he must give the boy some good time.

My Rate 7/10

What the hell is up with all the terrible reviews? This movie is a wonderful nostalgic trip down memory lane! I adore Ted Danson in this film! Peak Dad levels achieved! It's about 20 minutes too long, but I legitimately LOL'd more than once! Saul Rubinek is great as a great low-life thief that works with Danson. So many great montages in this one too! Refer to my previous review of Father Hood, but, I love the absent father mending relationships with their children films of the 90's and today was a day I took a trip down memory lane with two! This one is definitely superior to Father Hood. I think it has a lot to do with how wholesome Ted Danson is.

I like Macaulay Culkin and his films like the first two Home Alones, Uncle Buck, My Girl and The Pagemaster, and after seeing some tepid reviews and a very low IMDb rating I was expecting not to like Getting Even with Dad. But I actually did. It isn't perfect, it is overlong with an obvious and predictable story and the pace slackens at times, but this is a much better film than I was led to believe.

It does look very nice, with good photography and scenery, and the soundtrack was mellow and engaging enough too. Getting Even with Dad does have some funny parts at the expense of Danson's inept sidekicks, and some poignant moments without being too mawkish. Howard Deutch is a talented director, and he proves it I think here, and I really enjoyed the performances of Macaulay Culkin and Ted Danson both of whom carry the movie with ease.

All in all, far from perfect but there are much worse out there. 7/10 Bethany Cox