Director:
Steve Carr Cast: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, Angleica Houston, Kevin Nealon.
It's the unconventional paternal academy run by Charlie, Phil and Marvin, pitted against the highly structured pre-school run by the rigid, stern and stuffy Miss Harridan, that forms the backdrop of the film. A charming little film that drives home the point in its own humorous way that each little child is different, and that listening to what they want is better and wiser, than imposing one's own views on them.
It was necessity that drives buddies Charlie and Phil (Murphy - Garlin) to open the 'Daddy Day Care' centre for little ones. The duo who had barely any time for their kids while in the pursuit of their advertising profession, get thrown out of their jobs. Not being able to afford the expensive Chairman Academy, run by the overbearing Ms. Harridan (Mouston), for their kids, Charlie gets the idea to open a day care centre for kids. But it was a tough start with the kids; each of them with their quirks, and not all that easy to manage! One kid liked to cling to pillars and curtains, and only the sight of a dollar would bring him down. Another demolished everything in sight, while one fantasised about being a superhero!
But patience, some new tricks, and their third care-taker Marvin who has a special way with kids, all turn the tables in their favour. Resulting in more kids from the Chapman Academy shifting to 'Day Care'. A furious Ms. Harridan resorts to unscrupulous methods to shut them out of business. Finally she gets her way, when Charlie and Phil, lured back to their old jobs with a promise of a more lucrative pay, shut down their school, and go back to their job. Whether it is Ms. Harridan's contention that a child is like a clinging vine that needs a structure to cling to, and a gardner to nurture it that wins in the end, or Charlie's belief that while kids do need structure, what they need more is fun, is proved right, the closing scenes will reveal. Murphy is more subdued here, it's the little ones who steal the heart with their antics. A film you wouldn't regret seeing.
It's the unconventional paternal academy run by Charlie, Phil and Marvin, pitted against the highly structured pre-school run by the rigid, stern and stuffy Miss Harridan, that forms the backdrop of the film. A charming little film that drives home the point in its own humorous way that each little child is different, and that listening to what they want is better and wiser, than imposing one's own views on them.
