Rends la monnaie, papa !

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.

I like Macaulay Culkin and his films like the first two Home Alones, Uncle Buck, My Girl and The Pagemaster, and after seeing some tepid reviews and a very low IMDb rating I was expecting not to like Getting Even with Dad. But I actually did. It isn't perfect, it is overlong with an obvious and predictable story and the pace slackens at times, but this is a much better film than I was led to believe.

It does look very nice, with good photography and scenery, and the soundtrack was mellow and engaging enough too. Getting Even with Dad does have some funny parts at the expense of Danson's inept sidekicks, and some poignant moments without being too mawkish. Howard Deutch is a talented director, and he proves it I think here, and I really enjoyed the performances of Macaulay Culkin and Ted Danson both of whom carry the movie with ease.

All in all, far from perfect but there are much worse out there. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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.

* / *****

The movie starts in pretty interesting fashion when Macauley Culkin is deposited on the doorstep of his father, Ted Danson, just as he and his mates are preparing for a heist. However, the movie soon degenerates into "Home Alone" style antics as the young son brilliantly outsmarts his father time and time again. This all seems very familiar. Eventually the movie ends after nearly 2 1/2 hours of capers and disbelief. I wish they had of keeped the son out of it- police trying to 'get even' with the crooks sounds like a much better movie.

This movie was so boring. This movie is meant for people who probably have a IQ below zero. This movie is garbage. Little kids might liked this movie, if they're fans of the Home Alone movies. But Adults BEWARE!!!

*1/2