Daddy Day Care
(2003)
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Advertising executive Charlie Hinton (Eddie Murphy) leads an idyllic suburban life with his wife, Kim (Regina King), and adorable 4-year-old son, Ben (Khamani Griffin). But when Charlie and his buddy, Phil (Jeff Garlin) are let go from their jobs and can no longer afford to send their offspring to ritzy Chapman Academy Preschool, they decide to start their own day care centre out of Charlie's house. Things get off to a rocky start, but pick up when word gets out about the affordable rates they offer. Their sci-fi geek pal Marvin (Steve Zahn) jumps on board to help entertain the tots. But competitive Chapman headmistress Miss Harridan (Anjelica Huston) and a by-the-books child services inspector (Jonathan Katz) make sure that Charlie and Phil encounter plenty of hurdles. |
Kids don't just rule the roost in this amiable comedy — they steal the show. A role reversal romp in the same vein as Mr Mom, what it lacks in originality it makes up for in cuteness and verve. Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garlin play sacked advertising executives who decide to set up a children's day-care centre; cue major mishaps as a house full of angel-faced youngsters turn into marauding monsters — much to the delight of rival childcare provider Miss Harridan (Anjelica Huston), the stern headmistress of a very proper “academy”. This is simplistic, but it does work well. Murphy happily lets his pint-sized co-stars take centre stage and his performance is all the more effective for it, while the mix of parental-themed humour and poignant moments never nauseates. The film may be too sweet for mass appeal, but family audiences will be charmed.