MovieChat Forums > Father Hood (1993) Discussion > What were they thinking?

What were they thinking?

posted 2 years ago by CraigJamesReview (1764)
1 reply | jump to latest

Patrick Swayze made some terrible choices in his career but “Father Hood” needs to be seen to be believed. This is the kind of bad movie that basically reviews itself.

He plays Jack Charles, a lifetime crook and selfish, irresponsible lout about to pull a big job before something gets in the way: his children. They’re being beaten and handcuffed in the state facility they’ve been placed in and after some urging, Jack decides to kidnap them at gunpoint and go on the lam.

The kids, played by Emily Lloydd and Brian Bonsall, bicker with dad in love-hate terms that never lead to anything real and Jack either yells at them to “shut up” or steers them through reckless car chases and shoot-outs as if this is all the breeziest way to achieve some family togetherness. There’s even a point where Jack makes the kids think he died in a fiery car crash.

Such parenting probably, then, requires villains who are much worse in order to make us think the kids are better off with Jack. This gives us Halle Berry, playing an investigative journalist who is diligently working to uncover all the beatings, hand-cuffings, and sexual abuse happening within the state facility Jack broke the kids out of.

Did I mention this movie was produced by the Disney arm, Hollywood Pictures?
“Father Hood” is an ungainly put-together film. It seems like it might have started out as a dramatic expose of the foster care system before someone at Disney decided, “hey, this might make a good, family action comedy.” It doesn’t. That this film gets such a kick out of child endangerment is actually pretty cringe.

That includes Swayze. From his “I don’t give a shit about nothing” cool, his “i’m a product of the system” sentimentality, and his wild, maniacal laugh, Jack might be a lousy hero, but Swayze also makes him the most “movie”, least believable thug the film could find.

Overall, this is a family comedy about as charming as a car wreck, which is another thing Jack almost gets his kids into. If these are the choices kids have, then the movie almost seems to be championing abortion, something that should have been done to this movie in the script stage.

For more reviews, check out my youtube channel- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtQoj2LBSsES1QTa8a6bpRA

[–] Cognoscente (2720) 8 days ago

In August 1993, Bonnie Siegler interviewed Halle Berry. When asked what she learned from Patrick Swayze during the making of the film, Halle said: "Professionalism. And I learned that when you have valid ideas about a script change, it's OK to express them. But it's the way Patrick expressed them that made the difference. I've worked with men, who will remain nameless, who just burst into the room demanding changes with no valid reasons."