Fathers' Day (1997)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers (WGA):

Francis Veber (film Les Compères)
Lowell Ganz (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

The reason why some animals eat their young.

Plot:

A woman cons two old boyfriends into searching for her runaway son by convincing both that they are the boy's father.

Plot Keywords:

Rock | Runaway | Con | Seduction | Parent

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robin Williams	...	Dale Putley
Billy Crystal	...	Jack Lawrence
Julia Louis-Dreyfus	...	Carrie Lawrence
Nastassja Kinski	...	Collette Andrews
Charlie Hofheimer	...	Scott Andrews
Bruce Greenwood	...	Bob Andrews
Dennis Burkley	...	Calvin the Trucker
Haylie Johnson	...	Nikki Trainor
Charles Rocket	...	Russ Trainor
Patti D'Arbanville	...	Shirley Trainor
Jared Harris	...	Lee
Louis Lombardi	...	Matt
Mark McGrath	...	Sugar Ray Band
Craig Bullock	...	Sugar Ray Band
Charles Stan Frazier	...	Sugar Ray Band

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sex-related humor and drug references.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35280) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | Germany:6 (w) | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:12 | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 200 N. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Northern Lights Entertainment

Trivia:

Some of Crystal and Williams' character dynamics were inspired by their HBO Comic Relief performances (with Whoopi Goldberg) of the late 1980s.

Goofs:

Continuity: Towards the end, when Jack and Dale are looking through the album of baby pictures, Dale says, "I want that one," and begins removing the plastic sheet covering a 5x7-ish portrait with a blue background. Jack slaps his hand and says, "You can't do that." When they turn the page, the photo has changed to a mostly red, full-page sized image.

Quotes:

Dale Putley: [Screeches to a halt all of a sudden] Could you see if there's someone lying in the road?
Jack Lawrence: [Looks back] No, nothing there.
Dale Putley: There's not a body lying in the road?
Jack Lawrence: A what?
Dale Putley: A body.
Jack Lawrence: [Gets out of the car and looks all around. The car had stopped on a country road in the middle of nowhere] No, nobody there.
Dale Putley: I often think that I've run someone over.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Father's Day (#4.1)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

The World Tonight

Robin Williams and Billy Crystal together: a double-header

Yeah, the plot's kinda lame and not too believable, but the stars are able to make it a fun time. In fact, the best moments are the ones that serve not to advance the story, but allow Williams and Crystal do their trademark acts.

Billy Crystal is a master of the non-response, such as when told that he has a 15 year old son, continuing to slowly drink his coffee. Robin Williams is the improv master. It's fun to guess which lines were written in the screenplay, and which ones just came from his head full of characters.

We know everything will turn out OK in the end, but there are enough unexpected twists and turns to keep the story interesting, and some pretty funny minor characters.