Daddy Day Care (2003)

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.

Director:

Steve Carr

Writer:

Geoff Rodkey

Stars:

Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In the comedy Daddy Day Care, two fathers lose their jobs in product development at a large food company and are forced to take their sons out of the exclusive Chapman Academy and become stay-at-home fathers. With no job possibilities on the horizon, the two dads open their own day care facility, "Daddy Day Care", and employ some fairly unconventional and sidesplitting methods of caring for children. As "Daddy Day Care" starts to catch on, it launches them into a highly comedic rivalry with Chapman Academy's tough-as-nails director... who has driven all previous competitors out of business.

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Plot Keywords:

father | laid off | children | day care center | golf | 

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Taglines:

Who's your daddy?

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language

Details

Official Sites:

official site Sony

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon German

Release Date:

9 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Kindergarten Daddy

Filming Locations:

Milbank & McFie House - 3340 Country Club Drive, Midtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$433,709 (Italy) (31 October 2003)

Gross:

$1,894,325 (France) (31 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revolution Studios, Davis Entertainment, Day Care Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

During the puppet show, the girl with the glasses is sitting quite a way from the camera, but in the next shot, she's the closest person to the camera.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes are shown during the first portion of the closing credits.

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Connections

References Mr. Mom (1983)

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Soundtracks

"String Quartet, Op. 18, No. 5"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

Harmless fun for those who don't need swearing to find something amusing.

Y'know, it's kind of sad to see some of the comments bemoaning Eddie Murphy for not swearing enough anymore. It's almost as if some people equate foul language with humour. If you're one of those people who thinks a comic sketch is much funnier with swearing in it, then you'll no doubt not like Eddie in this movie.

On the whole, I found DDC to be harmless, unpretentious entertainment aimed at kids, naturally, but with sufficient adult-only gags thrown in to keep the parents happy. In short, a formulaic kids movie designed to keep parents from being bored and kids amused.

The plot is silly, and predictable, but you don't go to these sorts of films looking for deep and meaningful dialogue or witty social commentary. You just go to be entertained. And DDC does deliver on that score.

Of particular amusement is Steve Zahn, as the rather cliched Star Trek geek who is the only one who can speak to one of kids - in Klingon! He does kind of steal a lot of the scenes in which he's in. Anjelica Huston is starting to look real old, but still has that menacing screen presence that no doubt helped land her the role of Mrs Harridan (yep, that really is her name) in this picture. I'm thinking she would have made a much better Cruella de Ville than Glen Close's overacting scenery munching version in 101 Dalmations.

The only thing I found a little irritating about this movie was the number of times a microphone popped into view at the top of the screen. I must have counted at least five instances. I kind of grew used to this in the 80's straight-to-video days, but you don't really expect to see it nowadays, so it was a little annoying.

Other than that, the movie is harmless and fun. And for those that complain about Eddie not swearing enough....this is a KIDS film, you know.