Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)

A thirty-something former child star hires a foster family to re-create the childhood he never had.

Director:

Sam Weisman

Writers:

Fred Wolf, David Spade

Stars:

David Spade, Mary McCormack, Alyssa Milano

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Spade	...	Dickie Roberts
Mary McCormack	...	Grace Finney
Craig Bierko	...	George Finney
Scott Terra	...	Sam Finney
Jenna Boyd	...	Sally Finney
John Farley	...	Referee
Bobby Slayton	...	Commentator
Michael Buffer	...	Michael Buffer
Fred Wolf	...	Dickie's Corner Man
Alyssa Milano	...	Cyndi
Emmanuel Lewis	...	Himself
Joey Diaz	...	Emmanuel's Entourage (as Joey 'Coco' Diaz)
Kevin Grevioux	...	Emmanuel's Entourage
Brian Clark	...	Guy in Car
Leif Garrett	...	Leif Garrett

Storyline

Once, he was on top of the world as a popular child actor on TV. Now, he's Hollywood's punchline about everything wrong with people who were famous as children. All Dickie Roberts wants to do is find that one gig that will restore his honor and everyone's love of him, so after learning that Rob Reiner's making an ambitious new movie destined to sweep the Oscars, Dickie's first in line to audition. He walks out having learned he certainly looks the part but can't act it... yet, owing to his very unusual childhood. To research the role, Dickie embarks on a bizarre scheme to live with a suburban family to see how the average American child lives, having them put him up as their "son". But once his gloves are off, Dickie discovers how great it is to be part of a true family, and whether he gets the part or not, his attempt at method acting will certainly change his life forever.

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Plot Keywords:

marilyn monroe character | hare krishna | children | former child star | actor | 

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Taglines:

50 million people used to watch him on TV. Now he washes their cars.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, language and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 September 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dickie Roberts: (Former) Child Star

Filming Locations:

741 S Hudson Ave, Pasadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,660,540, 7 September 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$22,734,486, 23 November 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,Happy Madison Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fred "Rerun" Berry's final film.

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Goofs

When Grace puts the cereal box in front of Dickie, she puts it where he would get it with his left hand. When he gets the cereal box, it's placed where he picks it up with his right hand.

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Quotes

Dickie Roberts: This is Nuckin' Futs!

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Crazy Credits

About 30 former child stars sing "Child Stars On Your Television" a la "We Are The World".

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Strange Wilderness (2013)

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Soundtracks

Child Stars on Your Television
Lyrics by Fred Wolf and Robert Smigel
Music by Marc Ellis
Featuring Willie Aames, Fred Berry, Todd Bridges, Gary Coleman,
Jeff Conaway, Dustin Diamond, Tony Dow, Corey Feldman, Leif Garrett,
, Corey Haim, Florence Henderson, Christopher Knight, Butch Patrick (as Butch Patrick Lilly),
, Barry Livingston, Mike Lookinland, Maureen McCormick, Eddie Mekka,
, Jeremy Miller, Erin Moran, Haywood Nelson, Jay North,
, Ron Palillo, Paul Petersen, Adam Rich, Rodney Allen Rippy,
, Marion Ross, David Spade, Ernest Thomas, Charlene Tilton and Barry Williams
Produced by Brooks Arthur

User Reviews

The review do not do this film justice

Contrary to the sharp criticism of this film by multiple critics as a poor attempt at comedy with an absurd plot, I found this film to be delightfully humorous with a great moral for everyone to learn. Just like in Joe Dirt, David Spade really gives this film his best effort in such a way that you leave feeling like you've just been given a boost in life with such a great story. I would definitely recommend you see this movie in the theaters. The ending credits are hilarious as well. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star truly combines tatseful comedy with life lessons that audiences of all ages can truly appreciate.