Allein mit Dad & Co.

I've always thought Macaulay Culkin's performance in `Getting Even With Dad' is his best one together with `Home Alone'. It's a shame he's been out of scene in the last years, what forces us to go for his old films.

Culkin's partner in the movie is Ted Danson, who again shows he can do his part in comedies, like he did in `Three Men and a Baby'. Danson's a thief who now has to deal with an unexpected problem: his ex-wife leaves their son (Culkin) with him once he hasn't looked after him for years. The boy wants some attention from his dad, so he hides the coins his father has stolen before he could use it. If the thief wants his coins back, he must give the boy some good time.

My Rate 7/10

Getting Even with Dad

Awful story about a smart-a$$ed kid (Macaulay Culkin) who goes to live with his crook of a father (Ted Danson) and ends up stealing his father's (and accomplices') stash of money they've stolen from a bank. He promises to give it back if his dad hangs out with him and treats him like most sons.

There's a lot of feuding between father and son in this dismal and unfortunate tale that tries to prove kids are smarter than their parents and can control them with a bit of blackmail. If this movie had been released thirty years ago...I can only imagine what parents would have done to the copies.

Besides, apart from the stupid message of the film, it's just a bad movie. Macaulay Culkin has finally outgrown his childhood and for once the critics started to notice he couldn't act (like he ever could! He got lucky with "Home Alone"--it was good because of Pesci and the rest of the cast, not him). Danson is equally annoying in the role of his father, who seems to have been born without a personality. Yes, Danson is very watered down in this movie. To be honest, I don't blame him--this is the type of stuff that belongs on made-for-TV movies. You know your career has hit rock-bottom when you're in something like this.

And just think, this was made somewhere around ten years ago.

What a disaster.

* / *****

I watched this again recently and this movie since I haven't seen it since I was a kid (movie premiered the year I was born) and doesn't get the props it should. Its a basicly slap-stick style comedy and the whole cast worked well. I always loved McCauley Culken movies. He was a pretty good actor as a kid and a real cutey, (I had a bit of a crush on him when I was 7 or 8 yrs old. Other than the long hair Ted was great too. Don't know why people down it so much. Its not suppose to be some drama or thriller, just a comedy. Well I enjoyed it! :)

Getting Even With Dad takes Macaulay Culkin's "Home Alone" magic and applies it to another hilarious plot! Mac shines in this 1994 romp that takes him on a hilarious journey through San Francisco along with Ted Danson of "Cheers" fame. Mac is glowing with charm and probably his best hairstyle to date. It is a "must-see" in my book. 10 out of 10.

Getting Even With Dad is more of a nostalgia moment for me than anything else. What is interesting to see is how the film still has an emotional impact on me today. This isn't anything to fancy with regards to the scriptwriting or even the cinematography. This relies purely on the character development and acting of our main cast. Macaulay Culkin was such a big star at the time yet this one flopped a little on its release. Suddenly the audience had got bored of Culkin and he wasn't so cute anymore. However I believe Culkin plays a reasonably good part in this movie alongside Ted Danson.

The basic theme of the movie is blackmail, Culkin finds no other way to reason with his father on pulling off a coin heist, in which he sees it ending only one way. Alongside Danson and Culkin we have some great supporting characters, Rays (Ted Danson) two cronies Bobby and Carl played by Saul Rubinek and Gailard Sartain. Saul Rubinek adds some humour to what is mostly perceived as an emotional drama from my perspective. Where Getting Even with Dad struggles is sometimes in the pacing and also not fully sure of what it wants to be. It crosses genre without really settling on something concrete, this isn't a bad thing it just means it comes across of being not fully aware of the message it's trying to convey.

If you just watch this is a lighthearted mood and accept it for what it is you'll enjoy it yet if you are looking for something with a little more depth and meaning then you'll probably find you are on the side of the disappointed.