Fathers' Day (1997)

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

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers:

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

Stars:

Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Jack Lawrence is a smart aleck lawyer who is one day visited by an ex-girlfriend who tells him her kid was his. Enter Dale Putley, a depressed goofball who is also a writer, meets with the same ex-girlfriend who tells him her kid is his. One day Jack and Dale meet and discover what had happened: they've been told the same story and now there's a question of who the real father is. They learn their son is following a rock band called Sugar Ray around. So Jack and Dale hit the road to Sacramento and find their drunk, love-struck son. Soon after they bring him back to their hotel room, their son escapes and Jack and Dale must use teamwork to find him again, bring him home, and find out which one of them is the real father.

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Plot Keywords:

road movie | odd couple | remake of french film | remake | attempted suicide | 

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Taglines:

The reason why some animals eat their young.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 May 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un papá de sobra

Filming Locations:

Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$85,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,776,159, 11 May 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$28,659,604, 20 July 1997

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,000,000, 9 November 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Northern Lights Entertainment, Silver Pictures, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of two 1997 films to star Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the other being Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry (1997).

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Dale Putley: I'm an actor. A writer at large. I produce plays, things from my soul. But it's avant-garde, very experimental.
Jack Lawrence: You mean with guinea pigs?

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Worst Films of 1997 (1998)

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Soundtracks

Put on a Happy Face
from the Broadway musical "Bye, Bye Birdie"
Written by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse

User Reviews

Total Wasteland.

Awful little film that has losers Robin Williams and Billy Crystal each searching for a teenage runaway who is the son of one of the men, but which one? The two get conned by the boy's mother, a woman they each dated in their pasts, to help her find the brat who is following a whacked rock band and trying to win the affection of a teen girl who has a heart of stone. A really sorry production that wastes the enormous talents of Crystal and Williams and in the end you will think "Why did I even bother?". 2 out of 5 stars.