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'Daddy Day Care'

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Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Anjelica Huston
Director: Steve Carr
MPAA rating: PG for language
Release date: May 9
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'Daddy Day Care' doesn't make any Waves

Columbia Pictures

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By Matt Thompson
Austin360 Staff

Posted: May 9, 2003

Here's a general rule of thumb: If the movie you're watching at any point busts out with any song you've ever heard of by Katrina and the Waves ... chances are the makers of the film, well, just weren't trying too awful hard.

"Daddy Day Care" breaks out the "Walking on Sunshine" ditty as the opening credits roll.

Give you a hint?

But, hey, I'm not about to slam the makers of a silly little throwaway family comedy just because they were willing to contribute to Hollywood's chronic -- and by now it really should be criminal -- overuse of a silly little throwaway pop song from 1985.

However, I should stress ... they really weren't trying too awful hard. Which in some ways contributes to its charm, I guess.

Eddie Murphy stars as an out-of-work cereal executive who teams up with a similarly laid-off buddy (Jeff Garlin) to start taking in kids from around the neighborhood, mainly to make ends meet while waiting for a new job ... but also because there's a dearth of decent places to take the kids, anyway.

The standard, and I do mean standard, litany of dads-out-of-water hijinks ensues, achieving whatever degree of success they manage almost exclusively due to the charms of Murphy, Garlin and, later, Steve Zahn.

Complicating matters, as they must be complicated, is the owner of the stodgy, snooty day care center across town (Anjelica Huston), who fears the Daddies and conspires to shut them down. This sets up a "snobs vs. slobs" dynamic that used to play so well in college settings, now transplanted to the world of pre-school. (Some would say it's a better fit, maturity-wise.)

The plot of a movie like this, however, is like a page out of a coloring book: the lines are all clearly drawn; it's what you do to fill them in that gives the picture its appearance. Can it be pleasant? Yes. Can it be an original piece of art? Perhaps, perhaps not. But they really wanted to stay within the lines here.

Murphy learned years back he can trot through one of these films in his sleep and audiences will love it. Garlin exists primarily to serve as a victim of numerous pratfalls and kicks to the groin. Zahn brings charisma to his role of Marvin, a sci-fi geek who turns out to be the best at child care because he once inadvertently read a book by Dr. Spock. ("Y'know, it's not about Star Trek!" he states incredulously.) Huston plays Glenn Close playing a toned-down Cruella De Vil. The kids are button cute and the fetching Regina King is under-utilized.

Will kids like it? Sure. The potty humor and gaseous noises are state of the art. (Which raises the question: Will the day come when farting sound effects will win a film an Oscar for sound? I mean -- it practically carries many films these days.)

Will the parents like it? Well, you've seen this film before, so you probably know already.

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