User reviews

Getting Even With Dad is more of a nostalgia moment for me than anything else. What is interesting to see is how the film still has an emotional impact on me today. This isn't anything to fancy with regards to the scriptwriting or even the cinematography. This relies purely on the character development and acting of our main cast. Macaulay Culkin was such a big star at the time yet this one flopped a little on its release. Suddenly the audience had got bored of Culkin and he wasn't so cute anymore. However I believe Culkin plays a reasonably good part in this movie alongside Ted Danson.

The basic theme of the movie is blackmail, Culkin finds no other way to reason with his father on pulling off a coin heist, in which he sees it ending only one way. Alongside Danson and Culkin we have some great supporting characters, Rays (Ted Danson) two cronies Bobby and Carl played by Saul Rubinek and Gailard Sartain. Saul Rubinek adds some humour to what is mostly perceived as an emotional drama from my perspective. Where Getting Even with Dad struggles is sometimes in the pacing and also not fully sure of what it wants to be. It crosses genre without really settling on something concrete, this isn't a bad thing it just means it comes across of being not fully aware of the message it's trying to convey.

If you just watch this is a lighthearted mood and accept it for what it is you'll enjoy it yet if you are looking for something with a little more depth and meaning then you'll probably find you are on the side of the disappointed.

I've always thought Macaulay Culkin's performance in `Getting Even With Dad' is his best one together with `Home Alone'. It's a shame he's been out of scene in the last years, what forces us to go for his old films.

Culkin's partner in the movie is Ted Danson, who again shows he can do his part in comedies, like he did in `Three Men and a Baby'. Danson's a thief who now has to deal with an unexpected problem: his ex-wife leaves their son (Culkin) with him once he hasn't looked after him for years. The boy wants some attention from his dad, so he hides the coins his father has stolen before he could use it. If the thief wants his coins back, he must give the boy some good time.

My Rate 7/10

This movie really surprised me by answering a few questions that I really didn't expect it to. Culkin's period in the spotlight has always held a moderate interest to me, never enough to actually do much digging but after Home Alone 1 & 2 it seemed like he was primed to make a name for himself in Hollywood. Honestly, I even recall enjoying Richie Rich as a kid and yet he seemingly feel off the map after that. Similar things could be said of Danson really. He hit it big as the central character of Cheers for years but aside from his role as Sam, he'd been pretty low profile up until his appearance in The Good Place which seems to be kicking off a resurgence for him. The man clearly has a lot of talent, great timing and a solid sense of comedy. So, two actors with a lot of potential and a unifying question for the both of them. What happened?

Getting Even With Dad answers that question, along with the question of what they would both look like with ridiculously long hair, and the answer isn't pretty. This is such a joyless, manufactured movie loaded with unsatisfying aspartame sweetness that never even once rings the slightest bit true. Both actors fall completely flat save for Danson's delivery which seems to always be solid and their hai, which is always bouncy and feathery. A con man gets conned into doing stuff with his son and I bet no one that's ever seen a movie will guess what happens. That's the core of it too. It's so aggressively mediocre that it veers off a cliff and starts crashing towards the badlands of moviedom and never manages to pull it back up.

No one should watch this. It's not as infuriatingly bad as some lower rated films but it is utter and complete nothingness and not in the good way. Steer clear and go watch The Good Place instead or even try out Mr Mayor or go back and watch the movies and TV that made us love these two once upon a time, but don't expose yourself to this utter nonsense.

I saw this movie on an Amtrak train, and I almost jumped off! I had a 48 hour trip, and I was sick of reading, so I went to see the nightly entertainment, which was this steaming lump of doggie poop. Oh man, was this movie bad.

I like Ted Danson, and MacCauley Culkin is O.K. and all, but there's absolutely nothing remotely interesting going on in this movie. Rent this for the 10 and under set, or better yet, hand them a book.

This is one dumb movie.

An estranged son(Macaulay Culkin) tries to blackmail his ex-con father(Ted Danson) into spending time with him. Danson and two cronies pull of a rare coin heist and then Culkin arrives wanting to share father and son time. The coins are used to blackmail the ponytailed Danson into pleasing the obnoxious Culkin. HOME ALONE(1990) and MY GIRL(1991)were at least worth watching. This is neither funny or interesting. Danson fares well in his arrogant way. Gleene Headly is not believable as a detective. Also in the cast are:Gailard Sartain, Saul Rubinek and Hector Elizondo. Geared for the grammar school set.

I like Macaulay Culkin and his films like the first two Home Alones, Uncle Buck, My Girl and The Pagemaster, and after seeing some tepid reviews and a very low IMDb rating I was expecting not to like Getting Even with Dad. But I actually did. It isn't perfect, it is overlong with an obvious and predictable story and the pace slackens at times, but this is a much better film than I was led to believe.

It does look very nice, with good photography and scenery, and the soundtrack was mellow and engaging enough too. Getting Even with Dad does have some funny parts at the expense of Danson's inept sidekicks, and some poignant moments without being too mawkish. Howard Deutch is a talented director, and he proves it I think here, and I really enjoyed the performances of Macaulay Culkin and Ted Danson both of whom carry the movie with ease.

All in all, far from perfect but there are much worse out there. 7/10 Bethany Cox

When he was young, Macaulay Culkin consistently played incredibly street-smart kids with a knack for setting traps, catching bad guys, and outsmarting adults in a cute and memorable way. One wonders how his characters like Kevin McAlister or, in this case, Timmy Gleason fared in school, with classes like calculus, physics, and trigonometry requiring more book-smart level thinking. It's one thing to build an amateur trap; it's another being able to explain why the trap works and how it is triggered.

Getting Even With Dad marked Macaulay Culkin's last project for six years before appearing in a film adaptation of the stage play Madame Melville. His downfall could be attributed to many things, but Culkin was fourteen during the time of this film, already growing out of his cute-kid appearance and becoming more of an adult, as well as Getting Even With Dad's extremely poor box office performance after the kid was proved to be a solid cash-grab with two Home Alone projects. Even with this film, Culkin shows a certain tiredness to doing the same old schtick with little reward.

The film revolves around his character Timmy, whose mother died some years ago and who has been living with his aunt and her fiancée since the event. Planning to marry and get Timmy out of her hair, the aunt decides to drop Timmy off at his biological father's house, where both can meet each other and Timmy can have a place to stay. Timmy's dad turns out to be a petty-con by the name of Ray Gleason (Ted Danson), who is plotting with two amateur cronies Bobby and Carl (Saul Rubinek and Gailard Sartain) to steal a collection of rare coins. It is only obligatory that Timmy is smarter than all three of these cons put together, so when the gang actually do find the coins, he'll hide them in order to squeeze more quality time out of his father than he's willing to give (and also maybe have his hand at nudging a little romance in his direction on the side).

Getting Even With Dad is the classic case of a film biting off more than it can chew. The film tries to mesh themes of crime, romance, father-and-son bonding, slapstick comedy, and sentimentalist drama all into and it barely succeeds as a film detailing father-and-son bonding. It makes not knowing your father and then coming across him when you discover he's a petty crime out to be another instance to practically laugh off rather than one to be deeply upset about. Writers Tom S. Parker and Jim Jennewein (who also wrote the other Macaulay Culkin showcase of the same year Ri¢hie Ri¢h as well Major League II) had a golden opportunity to explore the sadness and the neglect of a father not being there for his son during crucial developmental years and then not even making a good too-little-too-late effort that, I believe, kids would've responded to much more than the mashup of cheesy themes we got with the end product of Getting Even With Dad.

The film was directed by Howard Deutch, who was responsible for directing both of John Hughes' screenplays Pretty in Pink and Some Kind of Wonderful as well as other products such as the charming Great Outdoors and The Odd Couple II. Deutch's directing style has never been one to praise for its uniqueness, but even in projects such as The Odd Couple II, he always seemed to manage to squeeze something out of his performers and his crew. Here, however, there's little he can do to liven a slumping screenplay with too many different themes to tackle adequately.

Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Ted Danson, and Glenne Headly. Directed by: Howard Deutch.

What the hell is up with all the terrible reviews? This movie is a wonderful nostalgic trip down memory lane! I adore Ted Danson in this film! Peak Dad levels achieved! It's about 20 minutes too long, but I legitimately LOL'd more than once! Saul Rubinek is great as a great low-life thief that works with Danson. So many great montages in this one too! Refer to my previous review of Father Hood, but, I love the absent father mending relationships with their children films of the 90's and today was a day I took a trip down memory lane with two! This one is definitely superior to Father Hood. I think it has a lot to do with how wholesome Ted Danson is.

I watched this again recently and this movie since I haven't seen it since I was a kid (movie premiered the year I was born) and doesn't get the props it should. Its a basicly slap-stick style comedy and the whole cast worked well. I always loved McCauley Culken movies. He was a pretty good actor as a kid and a real cutey, (I had a bit of a crush on him when I was 7 or 8 yrs old. Other than the long hair Ted was great too. Don't know why people down it so much. Its not suppose to be some drama or thriller, just a comedy. Well I enjoyed it! :)

I loved this movie,I thought ted danson was excellent playing that self centered father,and culkin once again does a great job with playing a smarty.I also loved the fact that it was filmed on location in san francisco at places such as embarcadero bart station,chinatown,the aquarium,and golden gate park.

A great family film. I loved Mac's hair, I want it so much. It's about this 11-year old boy, Timmy Gleason (Mac Culkin) who sees his dad, Ray (Ted Danson) after years and years. All his dad cares about is getting some coins with his gawky friends Bobby (Saul Rubinek) and Carl (Gailard Sartain). Then after getting ignored, Timmy hides the coins somewhere and the only way they can get them back is if they do whatever he wants them to do with him. Then his dad meets a detective named Theresa Walsh (Glenne Headly) after Timmy comments on her scarf and then Ray falls in love with her. I loved the part when Timmy held up a bra and said 'Is this one of yours? Ooooooohhhh-la-la'. So rent it, watch it, laugh, and if you love it, own it. XD

I enjoyed this movie and have watched it several times. It has an interesting story line and holds the interest. I would call it a fairly mild family drama and crime drama, rather than a comedy, though it does have comic elements -- for instance: Ted: How'd you get so smart? Macauley: I don't know. It sure doesn't run in the family.

I like the way Glenne Headley, a rookie in the detective department, talks in that meek, mousey voice, and yet she's always right and she cracks the whole crime. And her partner demeans and disparages everything she says -- that seems true to life.

Hector Elizondo has a nice turn as the detectives' boss; he's not a martinet; he's a reasonable man and gives them leeway to explore their theories.

Somehow I couldn't quite believe Ted Danson as a career criminal. He doesn't seem mean and immoral enough. But he did a good job nevertheless. (Hated his pony tail!)

Great ending -- Macaulay, who has outsmarted the adults all the way along, does it one more time. I like the way he brings a moral element into the matter, refusing to condone theft.

I would call this a feel-good movie, with less over-the-top slapstick than the Home Alone series.

The over critical reviews are a joke. Don't get me wrong this isn't an Oscar winner by any stretch. But it serves its purpose wonderfully. It's a fun funny heartwarming family movie. Yes bad guys get away, but it's an effin movie. Very enjoyable especially for kids. Definitely not one of the better Macaulay Culkin films but absolutely worth a watch.

'Getting even with dad' is one of the last films staring Macaulay Culkin before he disappeared from the world of cinema for many years.

Here, Macaulay Culkin was in his early adolescence but didn't look much different than in previous films, except for the long hair. He actually looked great with that long hair.

Despite having, in my opinion, the most famous scream in film history, here Mac never screams. But he shows his beautiful smile as in other films. He could have had future as an actor, if his personal life hadn't become the mess it was.

The movie is by no means a copy of 'Home Alone' but some of its ideas have a certain similarity to those films - mostly the fact that Macaulay Culkin plays a character who outsmarts the crooks (in this case 3 instead of 2).

This is not a bad film but it's nothing great either. It's mediocre. It's only *really* worth for Macaulay Culkin. In fact, I only recommend it to fans of Macaulay Culkin. Mac, as usual, is great, but aside him no one else has particularly good actings in this film.

As for the crooks, Bobby is the worst of the three. He is way more aggressive than the others - and he has a sick sense of humor, such as when he grabs a rat. Carl is harmless comparing to the others - he's more of a poor devil than anything else and, unlike Bobby, he hesitates before doing anything and seems to redeem himself at the end.

Despite being a relatively poor film, it has its good moments, such as Mac dancing at the sound of the great song 'Do you love me?' (from the movie 'Dirty Dancing'). Also, being a car lover, I've gotta say this: I love that car which Mac has a ride in the beginning - a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado. That is one heck of a car!

The movie starts in pretty interesting fashion when Macauley Culkin is deposited on the doorstep of his father, Ted Danson, just as he and his mates are preparing for a heist. However, the movie soon degenerates into "Home Alone" style antics as the young son brilliantly outsmarts his father time and time again. This all seems very familiar. Eventually the movie ends after nearly 2 1/2 hours of capers and disbelief. I wish they had of keeped the son out of it- police trying to 'get even' with the crooks sounds like a much better movie.

Getting Even with Dad

Awful story about a smart-a$$ed kid (Macaulay Culkin) who goes to live with his crook of a father (Ted Danson) and ends up stealing his father's (and accomplices') stash of money they've stolen from a bank. He promises to give it back if his dad hangs out with him and treats him like most sons.

There's a lot of feuding between father and son in this dismal and unfortunate tale that tries to prove kids are smarter than their parents and can control them with a bit of blackmail. If this movie had been released thirty years ago...I can only imagine what parents would have done to the copies.

Besides, apart from the stupid message of the film, it's just a bad movie. Macaulay Culkin has finally outgrown his childhood and for once the critics started to notice he couldn't act (like he ever could! He got lucky with "Home Alone"--it was good because of Pesci and the rest of the cast, not him). Danson is equally annoying in the role of his father, who seems to have been born without a personality. Yes, Danson is very watered down in this movie. To be honest, I don't blame him--this is the type of stuff that belongs on made-for-TV movies. You know your career has hit rock-bottom when you're in something like this.

And just think, this was made somewhere around ten years ago.

What a disaster.

* / *****

This movie was so boring. This movie is meant for people who probably have a IQ below zero. This movie is garbage. Little kids might liked this movie, if they're fans of the Home Alone movies. But Adults BEWARE!!!

*1/2

Getting Even With Dad takes Macaulay Culkin's "Home Alone" magic and applies it to another hilarious plot! Mac shines in this 1994 romp that takes him on a hilarious journey through San Francisco along with Ted Danson of "Cheers" fame. Mac is glowing with charm and probably his best hairstyle to date. It is a "must-see" in my book. 10 out of 10.