Vater kratzt die Kurve

This is a film that no one seems to remember and it is a real shame. I remember it very clearly, seeing it when I was only 14 years old in 1982. I do not think that it has ever been shown since. It is a real shame that Dick Van Dyke has given so many fine performances in films like The Morning After, The Runner Stumbles and the HBO version of The Country Girl that are so hard to view today. This man is a comic giant (in fact he was influenced by Stan Laurel. Dick told a story on a tv show recently that he was fortunate enough to meet Stan in the early 1960's. He told Mister Laurel that he had copied a lot from him. He said that Mister Laurel just laughed and said "I've noticed!". He gave the eulogy at his funeral in 1965. I think this was a role that was especially written for Dick and that no one could have played it any better then him. It sort of reminds me of one of those Frank Capra movies with the wonderful message that the underdog, the common man is the real hero and that a simple life is really the best life that there is. What a wonderful message! This is why we need to see this movie now more then ever. Dick and Mariette Hartley (a wonderful actress) worked so well together as husband and wife. They just made magic and I remember it to this day. Dick plays a stressed out businessman who decides to chuck it all for a simple and easier life. I will never forget the way that this wonderful movie concluded, it sort of reminded me of Capra's Its A Wonderful Life. Dick and his family sit down and have a simple and traditional Thanksgiving dinner. What a wonderful way to end the film. They need to make this film available.

Drop Out Father was not only an outstanding movie, it had a profound effect on our lives as young parents. We were so impressed by the decision that the middle-aged father made that we made one very much like his and have never regretted it. We watched the movie on t.v. and hoped it would be shown again. We never saw it and checked many times to see if it was going to be shown. We can't get a copy of the video, and feel that it should be made available for purchase. Not only that, it should be shown on t.v. I think that Americans are ready for this one now more than ever. Dick Van Dyke does an excellent job and is to be commended for it.

I watched this film years ago and I loved it, I have recently tried to buy and i cannot find it anywhere. I would love to watch Dick Van Dyke being his usual hilarious self. bring back classics instead of repeating modern rubbish all the time. I would gladly pay money to purchase this film, why is it Mary Poppins is shown every Christmas yet his better movies such as dropout father was shown once in the past twenty years. Dick Van Dyke is a marvellous actor who deserves his work to be shown and bought. after checking amazon and ebay I found that there was no way I would be able to but drop out father. please feel free to e-mail me if u know where I can get it on DVD.

I think of this movie every once in awhile and wish it were on DVD so I could watch it at those times. I've always connected it with Christmas and that does have a slight connection, but I liked the writing, the actors and performances and the movie as a whole. Dick Van Dyke always made it look easy and he worked so well with Marriete Hartley. A light enjoyable movie that you wish you could see whenever you think of it. Considering a lot of the really trashy stuff already on DVD, you would think this one would help balance it all out. A good story that holds it's own over time. Just as relevant and funny as if it was produced this week.

I had to restart this today, and watch it with more energy. Finally got to the end of it. I can't say I didn't like it. But I have mixed feelings, because the message that it was pushing, I didn't agree with. I didn't agree that anything needed to be changed except for the lack of communication in the family. I didn't agree with selling the house, or any of that.

This movie seems to push the idea that a fulfilled person is someone with a great career, and that there is no such thing as a happy housewife, she must have a career to be complete. Sorry, but I just don't think that the end result was an improvement over the beginning.

Other than that, I did like the movie. I liked the cheesy reference to '80s tv, I liked the cast, and especially Dick Van Dyke, who was my reason for watching. So, it's not a favorite of mine, but would I watch it again? Probably. It's one of those neutral movies. Five out of 10 stars. Right there in the middle.