Getting Even with Dad: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|1994 film by Howard Deutch}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Getting Even with Dad

| image = Getting_even_with_dad.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| alt =

| director = [[Howard Deutch]]

| producer = [[Katie Jacobs]]

| writer = Tom S. Parker<br />[[Jim Jennewein]]

| starring = {{Plain list |

* [[Macaulay Culkin]]

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* [[Gailard Sartain]]

* [[Hector Elizondo]]

}}

* [[Martin Mull]]

* [[Sam McMurray]]}}

| cinematography = [[Tim Suhrstedt]]

| music = [[Miles Goodman]]

| editing = [[Richard Halsey]]

| distributor = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]

| studio = [[Universal Pictures]]<br>[[Columbia Pictures]]<br>[[Regency Enterprises]]

| distributor = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]

| released = {{Film date|1994|06|17}}

| runtime = 104 minutes

| language = English

| budget = $30 million{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

| gross = $53.8 million

| gross = $35 million<ref name=ww>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Worldwide rentals beat domestic take|date=February 13, 1995|page=28}}</ref>

}}

'''''Getting Even with Dad''''' is a 1994 American [[comedy film]] starring [[Macaulay Culkin]] and [[Ted Danson]].<ref name="articles.mcall">{{cite news|title= Ted Danson, Macaulay Culkin Work Together On An Even Keel |publisher= [[The Morning Call|Morning Call]] |url= httphttps://articleswww.mcall.com/1994-/06-/18/news/2971838_1_tedted-danson-starmacaulay-sinceculkin-shirleywork-templetogether-cheerson-episodesan-even-keel/ |access-date=2010-12-31}}</ref> It received negative reviews from critics, but was commercially successful, grossing $53.8 million on a budget of $30 million.

==Plot ==

Timmy Gleason is the estranged son of ex-con Ray Gleason and has been living with his aunt Kitty and her fiancée Wayne since the death of his mother some years earlier. Ray works in a bakery designing cakes. When Kitty goes on her honeymoon with new husband Wayne, she dumps Timmy on a reluctant Ray, leaving him to look after his son in [[San Francisco]] for the next week.

Timmy is hoping to spend time with his father, but is largely ignored by Ray, who is in the midst of planning a rare-coin heist with his two cronies Bobby and Carl. The robbery is successful, but Timmy learns of it and hides the stolen coins from them. He uses it to blackmail Ray into spending time with him, promising that he will return the coins afterwards. Thus father and son spend the next few days fishing, playing miniature golf and visiting amusement parks, with an amiable Carl and angry Bobby tagging along.

After Timmy suggests to Carl that he made a map of the coins' ___location, Carl and Bobby find a map in Ray's bedroom and decide to look for the coins on their own without Timmy or Ray. However, this sends them on a wild goose chase that results in them getting arrested for attempting to steal a chest with communion wine from a church thinking the coins were in there. Realizing the map was fake, Bobby then believes Timmy and Ray set them up.

The police are suspicious of Ray, so Detective Theresa Walsh is assigned by her superior to go undercover and surveil him. By chance, Ray and Timmy get talking to Theresa, unaware of who she really is, and invite her for a coffee and then to dinner. Theresa and Ray develop a mutual attraction, causing her boss concern over her willingness to do her job. Timmy and Ray have also gotten closer, so Timmy decides that he wants to stay with his dad permanently. He urges Ray to forget about the stolen coins, because he will probably be caught and sent back to prison. Ray refuses, so Timmy prepares to return home.

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==Cast==

* [[Macaulay Culkin]] as Timmy Gleason, Ray's son

* [[Ted Danson]] as Ray Gleason, Timmy's widowed father

* [[Glenne Headly]] as Detective Theresa Walsh

* [[Saul Rubinek]] as Robert "Bobby" Drace

* [[Gailard Sartain]] as Carl

* [[Hector Elizondo]] as Lt. Romayko

* [[Sam McMurray]] as Detective Alex Serransky

* [[Kathleen Wilhoite]] as Kitty Gleason, Ray's sister and Timmy's paternal aunt

* [[Ron Canada]] as Zinn

* [[Sydney Walker]] as Mr. Wankmueller

* [[KathleenHector WilhoiteElizondo]] as Kitty GleasonLt. Romayko

* [[DannRon FlorekCanada]] as WayneZinn

* [[Dann Florek]] as Wayne, Kitty's husband and Timmy's paternal uncle

* [[Scott Beach]] as Wino

==Production==

[[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] bought the film as a spec script in a bidding war with [[Hollywood Pictures]], [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]], [[TriStar Pictures|TriStar]], and [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] with MGM acquiring the script for $500,000.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ayscough |first=Suzan |title=MGM 'Geting Even' for 500G |url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/mgm-geting-even-for-500g-102905/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=January 12, 1993 |access-date=June 30, 2021 }}</ref>

Macaulay Culkin's character was supposed to have a short haircut in this movie, but Culkin, who had let his hair grow at the time, liked his looks and did not want to cut it. His father, [[Kit Culkin]], demanded his son be allowed to keep his hair the way it was, pointing out that his character was a working-class boy and not a clean-cut, prep school one. He got to keep his long hair.<ref name="articles.mcall" />

===Locations===

The theme park featured in the movie was [[Paramount's Great America]] located in [[Santa Clara, California]]. Ray's apartment in the movie is located at the corner of Jackson and Mason St. in Chinatown, [[San Francisco]]. The church featured in the movie is [[Saints Peter and Paul Church, San Francisco|Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church]] on 666 [[Filbert Street (San Francisco)|Filbert Street]] in San Francisco. The miniature golf course was filmed at Scandia Family Fun Center located in Rohnert Park, California. The ice rink was located in [[Berkeley, California]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-bwBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 |title=Reel San Francisco Stories |author=Pollock, Christopher |date=2013 |page=90 |publisher= Lulu.com|isbn=978-0-578-13042-2 |___location= |access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref> Principal photography took place between July and October 1993.

==Reception==

===Box office===

Review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] retrospectively collected reviews to give a score of 3% based on reviews from 31 film critics, with a rating average of 3.7 out of 10. The site's consensus reads: "Overly formulaic and tonally inconsistent, ''Getting Even with Dad'' tries for a sentimental conclusion it doesn't earn and winds up a slapsticky cash grab aimed at fans of ''Home Alone''."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/getting_even_with_dad/|title=Getting Even with Dad|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Flixster]]|access-date=November 17, 2021}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a score of 31 out of 100 based on 26 reviews, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews.”<ref>{{Citation|title=Getting Even with Dad|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/getting-even-with-dad|access-date=2021-07-06}}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= Cinemascore |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}</ref>

The''Getting filmEven with Dad'' grossed $18.8 million in the United States and Canada and $35 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $53.8 million.<ref name="mojo">{{Mojo title|gettingevenwithdad|Getting Even with Dad}}</ref><ref name=ww/>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film two out of four stars saying, "It wants to be a caper, a comedy, a romance, and a showcase for Macaulay Culkin. That's too much of a stretch."<ref>{{cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=Getting Even With Dad :: Reviews|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19940617/REVIEWS/406170302|publisher=[[The Chicago Sun-Times]]|access-date=February 8, 2013|date=June 17, 1994}}</ref>

[[Desson Howe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' also gave the film a negative review explaining that "after plying the audience with formulaic predictability, ''Getting Even'' doesn't even have the decency to end quickly. Minutes away from sending the audience home, it chooses to fall asleep on the job."<ref>{{cite news|last=Howe|first=Desson|title=Getting Even With Dad|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/gettingevenwithdadpg13howe_a0b066.htm|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=February 8, 2013|date=June 17, 1994}}</ref>

===Critical response===

The film grossed $18.8 million in the United States and Canada and $35 million worldwide.<ref>{{Mojo title|gettingevenwithdad|Getting Even with Dad}}</ref><ref name=ww/>

Review{{RT aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] retrospectively collected reviews to give aprose|{{RT data|score}}|{{RT of 3% based on reviews from 31 film critics, with a rating data|average}}|{{RT of 3.7 out of 10. The site's consensus reads: "data|count}}|Overly formulaic and tonally inconsistent, ''Getting Even with Dad'' tries for a sentimental conclusion it doesn't earn and winds up a slapsticky cash grab aimed at fans of ''Home Alone''."}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/getting_even_with_dad/ |title=Getting Even with Dad |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[FlixsterFandango Media]] |access-date=November 17, 2021 }}</ref> On [[{{Metacritic]], the film has a score of prose|31 out of 100 based on |26 reviews, indicating “generally unfavorable reviews.”}}<ref>{{CitationCite web |title=Getting Even with Dad |website=[[Metacritic]] |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/getting-even-with-dad |access-date=2021-07-06 }}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= Cinemascore |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}</ref>

[[Desson Howe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' also gave the film a negative review explaining that "after plying the audience with formulaic predictability, ''Getting Even'' doesn't even have the decency to end quickly. Minutes away from sending the audience home, it chooses to fall asleep on the job."<ref>{{cite news |date=June 17, 1994 |last=Howe |first=Desson |author-link=Desson Howe |title=Getting Even With Dad|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/gettingevenwithdadpg13howe_a0b066.htm |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=February 8, 2013 }}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film a more mixed two out of four stars saying, "It wants to be a caper, a comedy, a romance, and a showcase for Macaulay Culkin. That's too much of a stretch."<ref>{{cite web |date=June 17, 1994 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Getting Even With Dad |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/getting-even-with-dad-1994 |publisher=[[The Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date=February 8, 2023 }}</ref>

{{Anchor|Awards}}

Culkin's performance in the film earned him a [[Razzie Award]] & a [[Stinkers Bad Movie Awards|Stinkers Bad Movie Award]] nomination for Worst Actor (also for ''[[The Pagemaster]]'' and ''[[Richie Rich (film)|Richie Rich]]'').

== Year-end lists ==

* Dishonorable mention&nbsp;– Glenn Lovell, ''[[San Jose Mercury News]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Lovell|first=Glenn|date=December 25, 1994 |title=The Past Picture Show the Good, the Bad and the Ugly -- a Year Worth's of Movie Memories|newspaper=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|page=3|edition=Morning Final}}</ref>

* Worst (not ranked)&nbsp;– Bob Ross, ''[[The Tampa Tribune]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Bob|date=December 30, 1994|title=Versed in the worst|newspaper=[[The Tampa Tribune]]|page=18|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune/126948976|edition=Final}}</ref>

==References==

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==External links==

* {{IMDb title|id=0109891|title=Getting Even with Dad}}

* {{rotten tomatoes|getting_even_with_dad|Getting Even with Dad}}

* {{Mojo title|gettingevenwithdad|Getting Even with Dad}}

{{Howard Deutch}}

[[Category:1994 films]]

[[Category:1994 children's films]]

[[Category:1994 comedy films]]

[[Category:American comedy films]]