My Father the Hero (1994)

Best movie ever!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Just a funny movie!! A movie you can enjoy to laugh without anything bad. My family and I have enjoyed this movie repeatedly throughout the years!

My Father the Hero (1994) *** (out of 4)The recently divorced Andre (Gerard Depardieu) takes his teenage daughter Nicole (Katherine Heigl) on vacation to the Bahamas where she quickly gets a crush on a young boy and decides to try and impress him by saying her father is actually her older lover.I still remember seeing MY FATHER THE HERO in theaters the day it opened and it really made me laugh. In fact, there were moments where I laughed extremely loud as did many others in the theater. I was shocked to see all the negative reviews that the film got but it clearly rubbed some critics and people the wrong way and especially with its subject matter.Reading over my plot description now, it's easy to see why some might find it offensive but it's actually done in a rather clean way so one shouldn't be expecting some sort of dirty comedy. In fact, the film's actually a very funny ilttle gem about a teenage girl not knowing the trouble that her lies are starting.What really makes this film work so well is the performance by Depardieu. The French legend is downright hilarious here and especially the way he breaks loose when he finds out what his daughter and said and what she has gotten started. I'd also say that Heigl was also very good here, years before she would become a star.

This movie, to me, is comfort food to my soul. I can't explain it. It's not an Oscar worthy picture, but there's a certain type of sweetness at the core of this movie, that seems to reach out and grab you. It's one of those movies that you break out and watch while you eat a quart of ice cream and cry over a long, tiring day. And somehow the movie manages to reach you. Maybe it's the way each character interacts. Or the wonderful island music that kind of takes you away. It has an innocence that touches you. A charm that many movies have lost. Maybe because it's such a simple story, it's not trying to hard to disarm you, so you get to enjoy the entire thing for exactly what it is. A cute, simplistic, coming of age romance. Three thumbs up ;]

This is another case of Hollywood Arrogance presuming to eclipse French Style. The original, Mon Pere ce heros, was one of the most charming films of 1991 so naturally the accountants in Hollywood thought they could hire Depardieu and phone the rest in. They did, however, take the precaution of hiring Francis Veber to write an English version albeit one utilising virtually every word of the original. Depardieu brings his Gallic charm and Katherine Heigl shows all the promise that is now paying off. The thing is that when the French make a sort of Lolita-lite they get away with it because the 'dirty French postcard' thinking works in their favour; here the Hollywood idea of lightweight subtlety is to have Depardieu (totally unaware that his daughter has let it be known he is actually her lover), prevailed upon to play and song 'something French', launch into a spirited version of Thank Heaven For Little Girls. See the original.