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Fathers' Day

  • 1997
  • PG-13
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
5.2/10
16K
YOUR RATING
Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:22
2 Videos
27 Photos
ComedyRomance

A woman cons two old boyfriends into searching for her runaway son by convincing both that they are the boy's father.A woman cons two old boyfriends into searching for her runaway son by convincing both that they are the boy's father.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
    • Lowell Ganz
    • Babaloo Mandel
  • Stars
    • Robin Williams
    • Billy Crystal
    • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.2/10
    16K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ivan Reitman
    • Writers
      • Francis Veber
      • Lowell Ganz
      • Babaloo Mandel
    • Stars
      • Robin Williams
      • Billy Crystal
      • Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • 66User reviews
    • 36Critic reviews
    • 43Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos2

    Father's Day
    Trailer 2:22
    Watch Father's Day
    Father's Day
    Trailer 2:27
    Watch Father's Day

    Photos27

    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Caroline Reitman with Charlie Hofheimer during the filming of Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Fathers' Day (1997)
    Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)
    Robin Williams and Billy Crystal in Fathers' Day (1997)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robin Williams
    Robin Williams
    • Dale Putley
    Billy Crystal
    Billy Crystal
    • Jack Lawrence
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • Carrie Lawrence
    Nastassja Kinski
    Nastassja Kinski
    • Collette Andrews
    Charlie Hofheimer
    Charlie Hofheimer
    • Scott Andrews
    Bruce Greenwood
    Bruce Greenwood
    • Bob Andrews
    Dennis Burkley
    Dennis Burkley
    • Calvin the Trucker
    Haylie Johnson
    • Nikki Trainor
    Charles Rocket
    Charles Rocket
    • Russ Trainor
    Patti D'Arbanville
    Patti D'Arbanville
    • Shirley Trainor
    Jared Harris
    Jared Harris
    • Lee
    Louis Lombardi
    Louis Lombardi
    • Matt
    Mark McGrath
    Mark McGrath
    • Sugar Ray Band
    Craig Bullock
    • Sugar Ray Band
    Charles Stan Frazier
    • Sugar Ray Band
    Matthew Murphy Karges
    • Sugar Ray Band
    Rodney Sheppard
    • Sugar Ray Band
    Alan Berger
    Alan Berger
    • Rex
    • Director
      • Ivan Reitman
    • Writers
      • Francis Veber
      • Lowell Ganz
      • Babaloo Mandel
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      As a cross-promotion, Warner Brothers had Robin Williams and Billy Crystal make guest appearances in Friends (1994).
    • Goofs
      Jack's martini while he's eating lunch with Colette.
    • Quotes

      Jack Lawrence: You're a tragic hero. You're Lou Gehrig.

      Dale Putley: Who?

      Jack Lawrence: Lou Gehrig. Everybody knows Lou Gehrig. The baseball player. He died of Lou Gehrig's Disease.

      Dale Putley: Wow, what are the odds on that?

    • Crazy credits
      Film title logo at the end of end credits
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Father's Day/Twin Town/The Fifth Element/Underworld/Children of the Revolution (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      Young Boy
      Written and Performed by Paul McCartney

      Courtesy of MPL Communications

    User reviews66

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Underrated and often quite fun to watch...
    "Fathers' Day" seems to pride itself in its two main stars, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams. This is more of a film made out of vain then for comedic purposes. It is for the crowds out there who have been waiting for Billy Crystal and Robin Williams to star together in lead roles, almost like the fans of "Freddy vs. Jason" have been waiting for their heroes to duke it out. This movie combines two big stars, and the amazing thing is that it actually gets away with it.

    Yes, "Fathers' Day" isn't all that great, and no, I didn't love it, but sue me: I enjoyed it. Is it too much to ask from a comedy that it simply entertain me, give me a few laughs? Films like "The Hot Chick" can't even manage to do this, but "Fathers' Day" pulls it off. Why? Maybe because it is so fun watching Crystal and Williams interact. They bring a dead script to life. I must admit that given a better script their pairing could have made for one of the funniest films of the year, but the screenplay for this movie is dead in the water. Crystal and Williams do their best and make it amusing, but it could have been so much more. When a film resorts to showing Robin Williams doing impersonations in front of a mirror for the umpteenth time, you know that the script isn't all it could and should have been.

    And this is pretty strange, because Babaloo Mandez and Lowell Ganz are usually trustworthy to deliver an amusing and hysterical script. These are the men responsible for one of my favorite comedies in recent years, "City Slickers," and their script for "Fathers' Day" just sinks to predictability, sappiness and sterotypes.

    Get this: Crystal plays an ambitious lawyer who gets a call from an ex-girlfriend he went out with 17 years earlier. She tells him that her sixteen-year-old son has run away from home, that he is the father, and that he must help retrieve the boy. She gives him a photo of the boy (who looks like the typical teenage snot named Scott), and touched by her story for whatever reason he agrees to find the boy.

    Problem no. 1. Crystal is a lawyer. At the end of the film, he is lied to and knows this. His wife (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) asks how he knows. He says, "I'm a lawyer, people lie to me all the time." If he is such a brilliant lawyer, why did he not look past his ex-girlfriend's little lie? Don't know, don't care - it is part of the film and what can you do?

    And get this: Crystal's ex happens to be Williams' ex, too. She tells Williams the exact same story as Crystal, hoping to get at least one of them to find the boy. They both try. We know they will accidentally meet looking for him, there will be confusion, the boy will not be grateful for their helping him out until the very end, and so on and so forth.

    But this movie entertained me. Crystal and Williams have good chemistry, even if a good script could have made their interaction a bit more. The jokes do fall flat at times, but the direction is nice (Ivan "Ghostbusters" Reitman), and to be honest, I had fun watching this movie. That's all I really ask for in some comedies.

    (Also note a cameo by Mel Gibson, who dropped by the set during filming of "Lethal Weapon 4" at Warner Bros.!)

    3/5 stars -

    John Ulmer
    helpful•24
    5
    • MovieAddict2016
    • Aug 19, 2003

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 9, 1997 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Warner Bros.
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • День батька
    • Filming locations
      • Reno/Tahoe International Airport - 2001 E. Plumb Lane, Reno, Nevada, USA
    • Production companies
      • Northern Lights Entertainment
      • Silver Pictures
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $85,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $28,598,376
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $8,776,159
      • May 11, 1997
    • Gross worldwide
      • $28,598,376
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 38 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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