Drop-Out Father

Like most of the IMDB reviewers of this film, I would love to see it released on dvd. Anyone who has worked in an office or a high-pressure job can relate to just about every character in this movie. Dick Van Dyke, Mariette Hartley, and a very young Martha Byrne, turn in very impressive and convincing performances. Highly recommended if it ever comes out.

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.

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.

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.