Fathers' Day (1997)

1997's "Fathers' Day", directed by Ivan Reitman. Starring Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Natassja Kinski, Julia Louis Dreyfuss, and Charlie Hofheimer. In "FD", Billy Crystal plays a twice divorced lawyer (now married to Dreyfuss), approached by an old flame (Kinski) who tells him that her teenage son is missing after a fight with her partner (Greenwood). The catch? Crystal's the father. Crystal then hits the road to find the son he's never met before, prepared only with a photograph. We then meet the Robin Williams character, playing a manic depressive writer who's attempt to commit suicide is interrupted by Kinski's reaching out to him. She also tells Williams that he is the father, and Williams strikes out on the road as well. It doesn't take long for Crystal and Williams to connect along the way, and figure out their predicament. The manic depressive Williams is inspired by the life affirming news (even if it's not true), and Crystal comes along, either by curiosity or contractual necessity. Further complicating matters, Greenwood also hits the road in search of his step son.Filmed in 1997, the film feels at least a decade dated, both in concept and it's fading stars' charisma (and mullet hair). While it may at times resemble a hackneyed version of 1988's superior "Midnight Run", it's closer in spirit to "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and "Weekend at Bernie's". The only thing about the film that does feel relevant for it's respective time, is the awkward corporate synergy between the movie's characters and the band, Sugar Ray. Not once, but twice, do we get to see the two hit wonder in concert action, not counting the backstage scene. To boost this premise, we also get a mime appearance, as well as a bizarre Mel Gibson cameo. For a comedy, "FD" is devoid of laughs, and the home run gags, such as a comatose teenager being cleaned in the shower while both the person on the phone and a nosy bellhop confuse what is going on with pedophilia and swinging, don't just fall short- they keel over in a an explosion of dumpster fire dust.It's shocking that Williams appeared here in the same year that he won an Oscar for his work on "Good Will Hunting". There is an awkward scene where he does his signature rapid fire impressions, but the rest of the movie he wavers between shrill hysteria and insecurity that made my skin crawl. And that's before you contrast his character with the man who would ultimately take his life in 2014. There's also very little chemistry between him and Crystal, with Williams' mental instability poorly meshing with Crystal's bizarrely miscast tough Type A personality phoniness, as they both become son smitten. Greenwood's presence in the film is a shame too, with him appearing in the superior "The Sweet Hereafter" the same year as well. Here, his character is an afterthought, confined to the comedy hell of being tipped in an outhouse, before just abandoning his search for his step child. Perhaps worst of all, Hofheimer's teenager character isn't wayward and developing- he's a sociopathic creep- though in his defence he's much like his mother who has no problem lying to the 2 main characters that she uses as volunteer bounty hunters by lying about their paternity. Crystal sees through the charade and explains how great it is- but it's not. Sounds like the movie itself. This Father's Day, it would be best to watch… anything else.

This to my knowledge is the only film that Robin Williams and Billy Crystal made together, and in my opinion it is a good showcase for two very funny actors at the top of their game.The plot is simple enough and the great thing about that is that lends itself more towards the dynamic between the characters being shown in lots of different scrapes. There's strong verbal and physical comedy and the two actors bounce off each other so well.My only fault with the film, as others have said, is that we have a rushed ending that both doesn't paint the mother in a very good light or give us the conclusion we hoped for. In a very funny comedy it is sad to see the ending just fade away.Overall, while not being the best film either of these two actors have been in, it is still better than most of the 'comedies' we see today.

So I decided to do some reviews for Robin Williams films as I am a fan of his ever since I was a kid. I was gutted when I found out he passed away on Monday by suicide and here is my review of the 1997 flick Father's Day. Now I didn't see this in a very long time so let's dive in. The film is about two men who have one thing in common they both have a son and they have NO idea which one of them really is the young boy's mother. So they track him down to find out who's son he belongs to Billy Crystal or Robin Williams charcther?Overall it was a fairly good film. And if you were a fan of Robin Williams then check it out.

Father's Day is a cute movie with a few cameo appearances from Hollywood personalities. Sugar Ray plays several songs and Mel Gibson is a body piercer. Two men find each other as they search for a young boy who might be either of their sons. The son ends up getting in trouble as he follows Sugar Ray around to different cities and is saved from his problems by Dale (Billy Crystal) and Jack (Robin Williams). By the end of the movie, it turns out that neither of the men are the father of Scott and that Scott's mother was only using Dale and Jack to find her son for her. Both men return to their lives, happier and they both have their own women to share their future with. Its a happy, feel good movie with some good humor from Crystal and Williams. Pretty good movie, but nothing amazing to go out of your way to view. Its pretty much a Saturday afternoon sit down, relax, and have lunch kind of movie.