Invisible Dad

This movie has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and is plain garbage. This was the first movie I reviewed for my "Tapes that Time Forgot" series on my YouTube channel "The Enthusiast" and, let me tell you, we're not off to a great start. This film is a muddled, cheap cluster of crap stuffed into 90 minutes. Burn it. Also, the VHS box lies. There is no carnival and the actors on the cover aren't the same as the ones in the film.

This movie made me want to bang my head against the wall. It is hard to compare such badness as this to anything, but some say that watching this movie is similar to bleeding from under your fingernails. And that comment comes from the writer's cousin. This movie was so flipping bad, it made "Hulk" (The second worst movie ever) look like "The Departed" (One of the greatest movies in cinematic history). If you like boring family movies with predictable plot lines, then you will absolutely love this movie. If you have a brain, then you definitely will not. When I rented this movie, I actually fell asleep while watching it. The next day, I finished it from where I left off, and it was the worst decision of my life.

When I borrowed this movie, I wasn't expecting a high-quality performance, but this was just sad.

Most of the acting was so unbelievably bad that you couldn't easily get into this movie if you tried. There's nothing quite like seeing a kid announce things like "Oh no! My Dad is invisible!" or "I wonder what this does?" in the same monotone that one might announce traffic advisories over the radio with. There are some good actors, but they are wasted on smaller parts.

The story is decent, though it would be fairly easy to guess, considering that there aren't too many real plot changes. Lots of holes, too. For example, the Dad is invisible, and the inventor figures out what part is needed to make him visible again. So the boy goes and steals the part from an electronics store. Couldn't he just ask his Dad for the cash?

This shows up in the Comedy category, but most of the comedy in this movie was fairly dumb, like the Invisible Dad taking off his clothes while invisible and then almost reappearing naked during a meeting, or walking around with his head covered at all times. Funny at first, but it gets old.

2/5, because it is watchable, and it's one of those movies that are funny in their own way... like the monotone recitation of lines.

Okay, it's a movie for children, and it's not one of those movies that adults will enjoy as well. However, there are some unintentionally funny moments, most of them involving holes in the story. For example, the kid needs a computer part to bring his dad back to normal, and he doesn't have the money. So, does he ask his father for the dough? Nope, he STEALS IT and gets caught. Kids, if I'm ever turned invisible, I'll advance your allowance, ok? Also, while this kid is at the police station (no doubt about to be charged with criminally lame acting), his beautiful blond teacher comes in, announces who she is and where she works, then BUSTS THE CHILD OUT OF THE SLAM IN FRONT OF THE COPS! To make matters worse, instead of making a quick getaway, they then SIT IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE POLICE STATION AND LAUGH ABOUT THEIR ACHIEVEMENT. You know, I hate to pick, but the kid DID steal something and ought to face the consequences, but maybe being in this movie is punishment enough. Y'all avoid it!

One in a handful of "invisible family" movies that Fred Olen Ray shot on the cheap in the late 1990s. Inevitably these all went straight to video and they're all interchangeable from one another, and very poor to boot; the plots are non-existent, the acting cheesy beyond belief, and there's barely any 'invisible' scenes either. To give you an idea of the quality of this one, there's a bit with with a floating mop where you can see the person's hand holding it. Karen Black embarrasses herself in a cameo and the whole thing is a big waste of time.