THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994 TAG: 9406180024
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
DATELINE: 940619 LENGTH: Medium
Consider the situation: Timmy (Macaulay Culkin) is the neglected son who has never had a real home. Ray (Ted Danson) is the criminal father who is serving time in jail. Timmy's mother dies. He lives with his aunt but now she's getting married to a guy who doesn't want the kid around. She leaves Timmy on the doorstep of his father, who is too busy planning a new robbery to be bothered.
{REST} Dad succeeds in stealing a cache of rare coins but little Timmy steals them from him. Subsequently, Timmy blackmails Dad into becoming a good father. If Dad will take Timmy to see all the sights in San Francisco, the kid might give him the coins.
Are you laughing yet?
What seems like a drama of loneliness and disturbed mentality is played for humor - using the public image of mischievous Macaulay Culkin as the inspiration.
Culkin is the most famous child in the world. In the ``Home Alone'' movies, he had the naughty elfin look that could push across physical abuse as comedy. It was funny, for seconds at a time, to see the underdog lad get the best of dumb adults (the pair played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern). Mac, if nothing else, just LOOKS funny - a factor that has made all his former movies (with the exception of the dance film ``The Nutcracker'') into hits.
Now that he's 13, he is a bit taller and has longer hair. Still, it is expected that his younger fans will show up for a movie, any movie, with a title like ``Getting Even With Dad.'' The philosophy that ``all adults are idiots'' sells tickets. (Do you know where your child is? If he or she is at this movie, best lock up your toys.)
Is it funny to see a boy forced to blackmail his father in order to get attention?
Granted, director Howard Deutch is going for ``heartwarming poignancy'' as well as laughs, but there is no hint that he realized just how dark the basic situation is in this film.
There is a bit of half-hearted ``Home Alone'' copying when little Mac outwits Dad's two dumb accomplices.
Culkin still has that funny face, but he's hardly in the first 30 minutes of the film. He more than carries his scenes, though. Danson is woefully unable to suggest, even with a silly-looking ponytail, either a crook or a caring Dad.
Maybe some producer should rush, super fast, to make ``Home Alone III'' before Macaulay's voice changes. ``Getting Even With Dad'' is only mildly pleasant when it is not being outright unpleasant. by CNB