FATHER HOOD
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating (Linear 0 to 10): 3.3
Date Released: 8/27/93 (Limited Release) Running Length: 1:38 Rated: R (Violence, language)
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Halle Berry, Sabrina Lloyd, Brian Bonsall, Michael Ironside Director: Darrell James Roodt Producers: Nicholas Pileggi, Anant Singh, and Gillian Gorfil Screenplay: Scott Spencer Music: Patrick O'Hearn Released by Hollywood Pictures
Jack Charles (Patrick Swayze) is a small time crook with a glib answer for every question and two kids in foster care. When his daughter Kelly (Sabrina Lloyd) escapes from juvenile hall and locates her father, Jack tries his hardest to get rid of her, but she persuades him to look for his son Eddie (Brian Bonsall), who is being placed in the same unpleasant place she escaped from, where children are handcuffed and abused. Recognizing the conditions Eddie could be subjected to, Jack kidnaps him from the authorities at gun point, then goes on the run with both kids in tow.
Unless infused with some sort of unique energy, road pictures have become a worn-out genre, as proved by FATHER HOOD. It's a mystery to me why films like this get made. Do we really need to spend ninety minutes following the misadventures of two children and an adult (who often displays less maturity than his offspring) as they run around the country trying to get to know one another? How many hundreds of movies and television shows have had the same plot?
There is little to relieve the tedium of this film, except an impressive performance by little-known actress Sabrina Lloyd. Unfortunately, this is not the movie anyone wants to have it said that they gave their most memorable performance in. Hopefully, someone will give her another shot in something where she'll have an opportunity to catch someone's attention.
If I had cared about the characters, perhaps the unbelievable number of plot implausibilities wouldn't have bothered me as much, but no one in this film manages to grab more than a token amount of sympathy, especially not Jack, who is an annoying, arrogant jerk. Give Patrick Swayze credit (if you want to call it that) for playing this guy with the right amount of sleaze to get the audience to actively dislike him. Unfortunately, when he turns over a new leaf (as is inevitable), it's tough to accept.
The two kids have their moments. Actually, I should say that Lloyd's Kelly has her moments. Eddie, as played by Brian Bonsall, a young actor of limited appeal and talent, is pretty much a nonentity. The script tries too hard to manipulate the audience into sympathizing with them, and that immediately put me on guard. Movies of substance rarely resort to such blatant emotional trickery.
Small roles are given to notables like Diane Ladd and Michael Ironside, but these two hardly have more than a few moments on screen. Halle Berry, who's given second billing behind Swayze, doesn't have a role that's much more significant. It's an understatement to say that her talent is wasted. I'd be curious to know why she agreed to do this film (the answer must have to do with the phrase "big paycheck").
On top of all this, as if sitting through this movie isn't a bad enough experience in the first place, the film makers manage to steal away any possible tension through their structuring of the story. We're given the ending to start with then, knowing exactly how everything is going to turn out, we're forced to sit through the details via an extended flashback.
FATHER HOOD comes complete with a social message that's as old as Dickens' OLIVER TWIST. Foster care in the United States has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years as more and more cases of abuse are revealed. While I would support a movie that grapples with the problem sensitively and intelligently, this is not that film. It takes a good- guy, bad-guy approach to the situation and presents it from a decidedly singleminded viewpoint designed to stir the viewer's emotions, not make him or her think about the seriousness of what's going on. In fact, the low quality of FATHER HOOD may actually sabotage the message it's trying to get across.
Recently, an Italian film called IL LADRO DI BAMBINI (STOLEN CHILDREN) covered a lot of the same ground. That too was a road film featuring an older, somewhat callous guardian and the two children he was entrusted with. The similarities extend no further than plot structure and character background, because IL LADRO DI BAMBINI is an excellent movie, and viewing it makes the faults of FATHER HOOD seem that much more glaring.
There may not have been many like me, but I was actually impressed by Patrick Swayze's performance in CITY OF JOY. I thought he had taken a big step towards turning around his popcorn-and-soda reputation. But with the release of this example of ugliness, I may have to admit to being mistaken. And "mistake" is a key word here, because that's exactly what this entire production is.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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