FATHER FIGURES (2017)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Lawrence Sher
Cast: Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, J.K. Simmons, Terry Bradshaw, Ving Rhames, Harry Shearer, June Squibb, Christopher Walken, Glenn Close
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language & Sexual References)
Released By: Warner Bros 
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 4 January 2018

Synopsis: Owen Wilson and Ed Helms are Kyle and Peter Reynolds, brothers whose eccentric mother raised them to believe their father had died when they were young. When they discover this to be a lie, they set out together to find their real father, and end up learning more about their mother than they probably ever wanted to know.

Movie Review:

Has it really been close to a decade since ‘The Hangover’? Oh yes, it’s been that long, and R-rated comedies haven’t exactly had an easy time at the box office especially in recent months. Part of the reason is audience fatigue, but equally responsible are drivel like ‘Father Figures’, which tries to replicate the formula of raunchy and sweet but ends up being neither funny or affecting.

The premise is simple: a pair of fraternal twins discover on the day of their mother’s wedding that their father, whom they were previously led to believe had died of colon cancer, is really still alive, hence triggering a cross-country road trip codenamed ‘Operation Who’s-Your-Daddy’ to try and find dear old dad. As formula would have it, these brothers Kyle and Peter aren’t exactly on the best of terms – Owen Wilson’s Kyle is a laid back beach bum living off royalties from a BBQ sauce bottle whose label bears his likeness; Ed Helms’s Peter is an uptight proctologist who is struggling to get over his divorce and has a teenage son that hates him. In truth, Wilson and Helms are simply playing into their types, but that isn’t at all why this comedy leaves much to be desired.

As is true for most examples of its genre, this one is structured as a series of comic set-pieces that may or may not add up neatly into a coherent whole; nevertheless, these narrative bumps would be quite easily overlooked if the gags themselves were worth the journey. Alas despite an impressive shelf of supporting talent including J.K. Simmons, Ving Rhames, Katt Williams, Katie Aselton and Christopher Walken, their respective sequences are not nearly as witty as they could and should be.

Except for Simmons’ unhinged act as a trigger-happy ‘repo man’, the rest of the encounters with the potential daddy candidates played by Rhames, Walken and Terry Bradshaw (yes, that Terry Bradshaw) lack verve. A midway sequence with Williams as a ‘black’ hitchhiker who doesn’t end up being a serial killer Peter originally feared falls flat; ditto a later one that has Aselton play a woman drinking alone at a bar who has an instant one-night chemistry with Peter and conveniently ends his three-year sex drought. And what to make of a scene that has Kyle and a young child urinate on each other’s legs in a rest stop bathroom?

Amidst the unfunny, dull and just plain stupid jokes, veteran cinematographer Lawrence Sher (who makes his directorial debut here) tries to cobble a movie that’s meant to be gross-out and uplifting at the same time. Not only does he fail to succeed on either count, the film’s denouement – which was the subject of reshoots and apparently the reason why this movie is only seeing the light of day after two years – makes the earlier two hours feel like an elaborate audience prank that’ll leave you feeling frustrated and even infuriated.

Really, ‘Father Figures’ makes it no wonder that audiences regard each new R-rated comedy with outright scepticism. Like we said, much of the blame falls to screenwriter Justin Malen, whose other genre effort ‘Office Christmas Party’ was just as, if not worse. Still, the fact that so much Hollywood talent is wasted in a movie like this reflects just as badly on the cast, who should have known better than to lend their star wattage to such terrible material. Go elsewhere for the laughs, go elsewhere for the sentiment, and in fact, just avoid this altogether and spend some genuine time with your dad, your mom and your family. You’ll thank us for it. . 

Movie Rating:

(Lame, unfunny, dull, weird and just dumb, this latest blend of smutty and sweet is the reason R-rated comedies have fast fallen out of favour)

Review by Gabriel Chong