Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy (2003)
Synopsis of the DVD Movie: Daddy Day Care
Charlie and Phil are so consumed by their high profile advertising jobs that they are completely missing out on the joys of fatherhood. After failing to excite the public about vegetable cereal, Charlie and Phil are fired from their ad jobs. That means no more expensive day care for their sons at the exclusive Chapman Academy, run by the harsh taskmistress Miss Gwyneth Harridan. While floundering aimlessly in search of employment and tending to his four-year-old son Ben during the day while his wife Kim is at work, Charlie has an idea. If he and Phil can handle taking care of two kids, how much harder can it be to supervise ten? Much harder than they ever imagined. Every kid is different and every one is a hilarious challenge, whether they're suffering from sugar rush, fantasizing about being super heroes, or just demolishing everything in sight, Charlie and Phil soon realize they are in over their heads. Way over their heads.
DVD Movie Rating for: Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy
2 out of 5 stars
Movie Plot of: Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy
There are some good laughs to be found in Daddy Day Care, especially if you're a preschooler with energy to burn. This romper-room comedy shamelessly exploits its high concept idea--dropping Eddie Murphy into a seething den of rugrats--but kids will have plenty of vicarious fun
In the hilarious comedy Daddy Day Care, two fathers (Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin) lose their jobs in product development at a large food company and are forced to take their sons out of the exclusive Chapman Academy and become stay-at-home fathers. With no job possibilities on the horizon, the two dads open their own day care facility, "Daddy Day Care", and employ some fairly unconventional and sidesplitting methods of caring for children. As "Daddy Day Care" starts to catch on, it launches them into a highly comedic rivalry with Chapman Academy's tough-as-nails director (Anjelica Huston) ...who has driven all previous competitors out of business.
Two men (Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garlin) get laid off in product development at a large food company and are forced to become stay-at-home fathers and take their sons out of the exclusive Chapman Academy. They create a new day care facility called "Daddy Day Care" and have kids like: the smart-mouthed-but-became-polite Crispin (Shane Baumel), the really-smart Becca (Hailey Noelle Johnson), and The Flash/Tony (Jimmy Bennett). As "Daddy Day Care" starts to catch on, it launches them into a comedic rivalry with the Chapman Academy tough-as-nails director, Ms. Harridan (Anjelica Huston).
DVD Production Details of: Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin
Director: Steve Carr (III)
Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star
DVD Release Date: September 23, 2003
DVD Features:
Theatrical trailer(s)
"Meet the DADDY DAY CARE Kids" featurette
"Quiet on the Set!" featurette
"Good Morning, Eddie Murphy!" featurette
"What Did That Kid Say?" featurette
Name the Noise Maker game
Kid Card Match Up game
Odd One Out game
Blooper reel
All-new animated short "Early Bloomer"
Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
Daddy Day Care DVD Easter Eggs
Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy
Cast of the movie: Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy
- Eddie Murphy .... Charlie Hinton
- Jeff Garlin .... Phil
- Steve Zahn .... Marvin
- Regina King .... Kim Hinton
- Kevin Nealon .... Bruce
- Jonathan Katz .... Dan Kubitz
- Siobhan Fallon .... Peggy (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
- Lisa Edelstein .... Crispin's Mom
- Lacey Chabert .... Jenny
- Laura Kightlinger .... Sheila
- Leila Arcieri .... Kelli
- Anjelica Huston .... Mrs. Gwyneth Harridan
- Khamani Griffin .... Ben Hinton
- Max Burkholder .... Max
- Arthur Young .... Nicky
- Elle Fanning .... Jamie
- Cesar Flores .... Sean
- Hailey Noelle Johnson .... Becca (as Hailey Johnson)
- Felix Achille .... Dylan
- Shane Baumel .... Crispin
- Jimmy Bennett .... The Flash/Tony
- Connor Carmody .... Duncan
- Kennedy McCullough .... Jeannie
- Alyssa Shafer .... Juel
- Bridgette Ho .... Erin
- Brie Hill Arbaugh .... Jamie's Mom (as Brie Arbaugh)
- Susan Santiago .... Sean's Mom
- Annabelle Gurwitch .... Becca's Mom
- Mary Portser .... Tony's Mom
- Timmy Deters .... Tony's Brother
- McNally Sagal .... Enraged Mom
- Damani Roberts .... German Speaking Boy
- Tara Mercurio .... SAT Teacher
- Gary Owen .... Mr. Carrott
- Wallace Langham .... Jim Fields
- Fred Stoller .... Job Counselor (as Fred Stoler)
- Joan M. Blair .... Day Care Lady (as Joan Blair)
- Bess Meisler .... Old Gypsy Woman
- Sonya Eddy .... Waitress
- Paul Anthony Reynolds .... Co-Worker Marty
- Rachael Harris .... Co-Worker Elaine
- Mark Griffin .... Co-Worker Steve
- Dennis Cockrum .... Marketing Guy
- Don Winston .... Marketing Guy
- Lisa Oliva .... Marketing Girl
- Michelle Krusiec .... English Teacher
- Kris Cruz Toledo .... Interested Mom
- Brian Palermo .... Skeptical Father
- Roger E. Reid .... Parks Employee (as Roger Reid)
- Nathaniel Carter .... Focus Group Kid
- Tracy Lynch Britton .... Office Worker (as Tracy Britton)
- Robin Zander .... Himself (as Cheap Trick)
- Rick Nielsen .... Himself (as Cheap Trick)
Photo Gallery of the movie: Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy
Click on one of the thumbnails to see the full size, high resolution photographs
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Reviews of the movie: Daddy Day Care - Eddy Murphy
There are some good laughs to be found in Daddy Day Care, especially if you're a preschooler with energy to burn. This romper-room comedy shamelessly exploits its high concept idea--dropping Eddie Murphy into a seething den of rugrats--but kids will have plenty of vicarious fun as Eddie Murphy and his fellow laid-off colleague (Jeff Garlin) battle unemployment by opening a day-care center in Eddie's home. In partial Witches mode, Anjelica Huston hams it up as a day-care competitor bent on closing Eddie down, while doofus extraordinaire Steve Zahn is recruited as a third partner in "Daddy Day Care," trying his best to entertain a pack of hyperactive kids who've stopped taking their Ritalin. Zahn makes a funny Star Trek fan (even when the script contains bogus Trekkie trivia), and Eddie Murphy deserves credit for giving his all in a comedy that mostly squanders his talent. Indeed, is Daddy Day Care a comedy or every parent's nightmare? Daring viewers can decide for themselves.
A gentle, OK film, but Eddie Murphy should've been more funny...
Daddy Day Care
Charlie (Eddie Murphy) has just been fired from his beloved marketing position. Stuck back at home with his wife (Regina King) and son, Charlie tries hard to find a job in an economy that cannot help him at all. Taking over the home duties while his wife returns to work, Charlie has the idea to start a day-care service to make ends meet. Recruiting his buddy (Jeff Garlin), and a former colleague (Steve Zahn) to help run the business, the team opens `Daddy Day Care,' and it soon becomes a smash hit, much to the chagrin of a local pre-school teacher (a slumming Angelica Huston) who is watching her students drop out for Charlie's service by the dozens.
In the year 2003, there are now two Eddie Murphys. Eddie The Comedian is a fast-talking, sparklingly vulgar individual who rose to fame in `48 Hrs,' and `Beverly Hills Cop.' Eddie Murphy The Dad is a more peaceful man, letting the supporting players crack the jokes, as seen in `Doctor Dolittle' and its sequel. 2002 was a rough year for Eddie Murphy The Comedian, with his misguided `Pluto Nash,' and the corrosive `I Spy' and `Showtime' tanking woefully at the box office and with audiences. `Daddy Day Care' brings back Eddie The Dad in a film that's exceedingly safe, and incredibly reliable. Much like the two `Dolittle' films, `Day Care' is vanilla material, featuring an oddly contented Eddie Murphy, who at one point in his career had the most dangerous comedic vision of them all.
We all have to grow up sometime, but with Eddie Murphy , growing up means being declawed. `Day Care' a good example of Murphy not wanting to be `Eddie Murphy' anymore. It's pleasant enough family comedy, heavy on the sweetness, and with a large amount of jokes aimed directly at the kids who've never seen Eddie Murphy at his peak. But it doesn't feature one belly laugh for the adults. Bringing back his `Dolittle 2' director Steve Carr, Murphy seems to have everybody else in the cast on specific instructions to be funnier than he is. And being the straight man is not where Murphy's gifts are. All `Day Care' expects of Murphy is for him to watch kids be cute, and to have his two co-stars fall down a whole bunch, while Murphy reacts to it. Admittedly, this does work for some of Carr's ideas, including one kid who speaks only in Klingon (a small section of the large `Star Trek` theme running through the film), and another who idolizes the comic book hero, The Flash. It isn't nearly enough, with `Day Care' so concerned with being nice and available to all audiences, that it sacrifices charm, wit, and those precious laughing fits that should've been here.
So what happens when the kids are only marginally adorable, and the adults aren't even trying? Well, according to Carr, you just pile on the tried and true bathroom humor, which frankly does belong more in `Day Care' than in other films. I just wish it wasn't so obviously used as a lazy device to get the kids in the audience to laugh.
`Daddy Day Care' is actually a step up from Eddie Murphy past year of flops, but it's missing those instinctual elements that the comedian needs to rediscover. He may be a father now, and have a new legion of fans in diapers, but Eddie Murphy needs to find his center again, or else he'll be stuck playing dads for the rest of his career.
