Meeting Daddy

I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.I am simply disappointed that this is Lloyd Bridges' last film, he could have done something epic.

Found this sleeper of a movie in the $1.99 bargain bin at Blockbuster and it was still not worth it. This poor attempt to mimic the gross-out humor of the Farrelly brothers falls beyond short. The plot is slow-moving, the characters are flat, and the comedy predictable. Alexandra Wentworth is way too old to play the girlfriend and her acting is just as amateur as when she was on In Living Color. Josh Charles does his best playing the more believable conservative boyfriend, but again the age difference is so obvious. Josh looks more like her son than her boyfriend. Lloyd Bridges performance is top notch and it's a shame that this was his final film, not just because he was an excellent actor but because this movie sucks big time!

I checked this movie out based on a review on this site. Please, save yourself the time and trouble of hoping this turkey goes somewhere. A decent cast, ample budget and a very unfunny story. Just terrible!

Peter is an aspiring writer from New York who has moved to Los Angeles and works in a bookstore. His girlfriend Melanie is in law school. Melanie asks Peter to come with her to Georgia to help take care of her elderly diabetic father, who really needs to be in a home or at least have a full-time caretaker.

Larry and Dink are Melanie's brothers. Dink is a fat jerk who doesn't seem too intelligent. Larry seems to work in real estate and has filed for bankruptcy in the past. The responsibility of taking care of The Colonel seems to fall to Melanie, however. And The Colonel doesn't like being taken care of or told what to do, even though his mind isn't quite right and he wants to eat what isn't good for him. The family starts looking at options, and Peter ends up having to take care of Daddy while they are gone, with humorous results.

The Colonel is a Hard-Shell Baptist and conservative, which is frustrating for Peter and Melanie, who want to sleep together. Dink tells Peter, who is Jewish, that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

I liked this movie when it was funny. Sometimes the arguing between family members got to be a little much. And the real-estate gags got old fast.

Lloyd Bridges was quite convincing as a feeble but stubborn old man. Alexandra Wentworth effectively showed the take-charge personality of Melanie, but even she had her vulnerable moments, such as when she was deprived of sex. Edie McClurg was adorable and perky but not too confident as the woman hired to take care of Daddy. And Kristy Swanson was a delight as Melanie's best friend from high school, who came up with values for items in the house so they could be divided among the children. But mostly she wore too-short skirts and seemed to want Peter.

This was worth seeing, even if it seems kind of familiar.

The plot couldn't be simpler. "My girlfriend's family turns out to be weird." Nothing wrong with that, except that there's nothing lovable about the weirdness (the closest to lovable is irascible, that's Lloyd Bridges) and the boyfriend and girlfriend are just cardboard figures themselves. Alexandra Wentworth is still beautiful, chipmunk cheeks and all, but she looks too mature for a college kid. We're supposed to identify with the male lead, but to see the scene through his eyes is to see a world that is neither attractive nor believable and the movie just doesn't reward the effort.