Invisible Dad

Andrew Bailey (Daran Norris)is an architect who has been moving from job to job, in a variety of cities, much to the dislike of his son, Doug. Their new abode, however, turns out to be the former home of a couple of wacky scientists. It sure picks up Doug's spirits when he finds a machine designed to render people invisible and change time, in the garage! It works well for a couple of practice runs. However, one day Doug turns his Dad invisible, just as the machine breaks down. Dad has a big project due soon for his firm, too. What's a new boy in town supposed to do? This film may be formulaic, yes, but it is still fun. In fact, sometimes a formula is comforting as the viewer knows this is going to be another great entry in family fare. The actors are all unknown, except, perhaps, Karen Black, yet they all fulfill the dramatic demands of their roles quite well. There is a romance, bad guys, heroes, far-out science, and more to make a child's face light up. Try it and have good family film fest.

Okay, it's a movie for children, and it's not one of those movies that adults will enjoy as well. However, there are some unintentionally funny moments, most of them involving holes in the story. For example, the kid needs a computer part to bring his dad back to normal, and he doesn't have the money. So, does he ask his father for the dough? Nope, he STEALS IT and gets caught. Kids, if I'm ever turned invisible, I'll advance your allowance, ok? Also, while this kid is at the police station (no doubt about to be charged with criminally lame acting), his beautiful blond teacher comes in, announces who she is and where she works, then BUSTS THE CHILD OUT OF THE SLAM IN FRONT OF THE COPS! To make matters worse, instead of making a quick getaway, they then SIT IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE POLICE STATION AND LAUGH ABOUT THEIR ACHIEVEMENT. You know, I hate to pick, but the kid DID steal something and ought to face the consequences, but maybe being in this movie is punishment enough. Y'all avoid it!

Well the name in the summary should tell you everything. FRED OLEN RAY - the modern King of low budget flicks, be it for TV or direct to video (I doubt he produces for the silver screen anymore - with the death of drive-in B-movie double features and all).

Creator of such cult(?) classics, like Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers and Dinosaur Island....

Well I kind of like this guys stuff. Its mostly entertaining (in a distinctly cheesy, campy and especially cheap kind of way) and if he's one thing, he's a pro - something you can't say for all guys in the movie biz.

But this one flick here is among the weaker ones in his oevre. Insipid acting, an uninspired script and lame jokes conspire to make your brain go numb in a matter of minutes. If you are out for real F.O.R. goodness (or rather badness), look out for the above mentioned ones, and generally his stuff from the 70s and 80s (I think he lost a bit of his edge lately).

When I borrowed this movie, I wasn't expecting a high-quality performance, but this was just sad.

Most of the acting was so unbelievably bad that you couldn't easily get into this movie if you tried. There's nothing quite like seeing a kid announce things like "Oh no! My Dad is invisible!" or "I wonder what this does?" in the same monotone that one might announce traffic advisories over the radio with. There are some good actors, but they are wasted on smaller parts.

The story is decent, though it would be fairly easy to guess, considering that there aren't too many real plot changes. Lots of holes, too. For example, the Dad is invisible, and the inventor figures out what part is needed to make him visible again. So the boy goes and steals the part from an electronics store. Couldn't he just ask his Dad for the cash?

This shows up in the Comedy category, but most of the comedy in this movie was fairly dumb, like the Invisible Dad taking off his clothes while invisible and then almost reappearing naked during a meeting, or walking around with his head covered at all times. Funny at first, but it gets old.

2/5, because it is watchable, and it's one of those movies that are funny in their own way... like the monotone recitation of lines.

One in a handful of "invisible family" movies that Fred Olen Ray shot on the cheap in the late 1990s. Inevitably these all went straight to video and they're all interchangeable from one another, and very poor to boot; the plots are non-existent, the acting cheesy beyond belief, and there's barely any 'invisible' scenes either. To give you an idea of the quality of this one, there's a bit with with a floating mop where you can see the person's hand holding it. Karen Black embarrasses herself in a cameo and the whole thing is a big waste of time.