| With his latest directorial
effort, "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star", Sam Weisman
answers the question posed by his last film, "What's the Worst That
Could Happen?" Sorry to say, but it's hard to imagine too much
that's worse than sitting through this uneven, contrived big screen
version of People magazine's "Where Are They Now?" column.
35 year old Dickie Roberts was once the
hottest child star on the air. Starring in a ratings hit called
"The Glimmer Gang", Dickie coined and capitalized on the
phrase "Nucking Futs." Unfortunately, as we have all know,
it's very rare that a child star grows up to be an adult star and Dickie
is no exception. Now working as a parking valet at Morton's, Dickie is
desperate to return to acting. Auditioning before producer Rob Reiner
(who plays himself) for the "role of a lifetime", Dickie is
perfect for the part. There's just one problem - Reiner needs a
"normal" guy and Dickie is anything but "normal."
Dickie is "nucking futs."
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Photos © Copyright 2003
Paramount Pictures
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But being "nucking futs" has its
advantages. It lets you come up with hair-brained schemes outside of the
norm - like hiring a family in order to start your life from scratch
going from childhood to adulthood so you can learn to be
"normal." (Obviously Dickie hasn't visited my family.) Enter
the Finney family and its slimey patriarch George who jumps at the
chance to earn an easy $20,000.00 by taking Dickie in and
"raising" him. (A bargain at half the price. My brother Ed
would probably want $50,000.) Too bad he didn't tell Mrs. Finney she
just gave birth to a third child. Too bad George pretty much cuts and
runs leaving mom holding the bag.
Produced by Adam Sandler and written by
"Saturday Night Live" veteran Fred Wolf together with the
film's star, David Spade, one would expect side-splitting hilarity.
Sadly, such is not the case. Starting off as a dark comedy with great
potential, the film takes a downward spiral (much like Dickie's career)
as it erratically shifts gears into sappy sweetness, bouncing from
implausible sketches to warm fuzzy moments of family bonding that are
irritatingly out of synch with the potential for great comedic set-ups
and sketches lost, much like the career of a former child star.
Disappointingly, director Weisman who has brought us such gems over the
years as "George of the Jungle" and episodic television like
"Moonlighting", "Who's the Boss", "Brooklyn
Bridge" and "Family Ties", can't seem to overcome the
shortcomings of the script or the performance of David Spade (who
dominates screen time), resulting in a production that seems more
appropriately designed as a straight to video or movie of the week.
Spade, who has repeatedly failed to
achieve the same level of comedic skill he exhibited during his six
years on SNL, holds true to form here in his portrayal of Dickie.
Seemingly on the edge of a great performance but never quite delivering,
Spade comes across as merely trite. Supporting cast members Doris
Roberts and Edie McClurg, however, are, not surprisingly, wonderful and
wonderfully funny.
But all is not lost. For all you children
of the 70's and 80's, there are plenty of reasons to see "Dickie
Roberts". To name a few, Willie Aames, Danny Bonaduce, Dustin
Diamond, Leif Garrett, Corey Feldman, Maureen McCormick, Barry Williams,
Erin Murphy, Alyssa Milano, Emmanuel Lewis and even California
gubernatorial candidate Gary Coleman, who pop up throughout and then
come together for a film ending homage to child stars that is an
absolute delight. Thanks to the talents of editor Roger Bondelli, this
clip is a must see. It's just too bad you've got to sit through the film
itself to get to it.
David Spade: Dickie Roberts
Craig Bierko: George Finney
Scott Terra: Sam Finney
Jenna Boyd: Sally Finney
Mary McCormack: Grace Finney
Paramount Pictures. Directed by Sam Weisman. Written by Fred Wolf and
David Spade. Rated PG-13
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