Sometimes a girl just needs her dad.
The great thing about watching a movie as a child is that because of the innocence embedded within, you can’t help but take most films at face value. The young mind is free from stark real world knowledge and that ability to read between the lines which cannot help but color the way a person would view the same movie as an adult. Sometimes a realization happens: How could I like a movie I thought was about that when it was really about THAT?! I personally had such a revelation when revisiting the 1994 comedy My Father the Hero.
Released by Touchstone back in the day, the film employed breezy comedy in telling the story of a divorced man named Andre (Gerard Depardieu) who attempts to reconnect with his 14-year old daughter Nicky (Katherine Heigl) by taking her on a week-long vacation to the Bahamas. Resentful and rebellious, Nicky makes it hard for her father to get to know her and is determined to have a miserable time. Her tune changes when she meets handsome lifeguard Ben (Dalton James), whom she’s smitten with, despite the fact that he thinks she’s a child. Desperate to have Ben believe she’s a mature woman of 18, Nicky tells him that Andre is in reality, her lover in the hopes that it will make her come across as more grown up. Word quickly gets around to the rest of hotel’s staff and guests, all of whom look at Andre with absolute disgust as he wonders what is going on.
Yes, the premise of My Father the Hero does fall into the mode of cringeworthy thanks to the actions of its young protagonist. This is a film about a 14-year-old pretending to be engaged to a MUCH older man who is really her father. It’s an outrageous and somewhat twisted notion. There are moments where Nicky cuddles with her father in the eyeline of Ben, happy that she’s hopefully made the latter jealous while deceiving the former into a false loving moment with his estranged daughter. Instances such as these in the film bring out feelings of disdain towards Nicky, pity for Andre and an overall ick as the audience is reminded of the nature of the story they’re actually watching. Eventually, when word gets out around the luxurious resort Andre and Nicky are staying in, guests to turn up their noses at Andre and the staff to make jokes behind his back. Yet what’s insane is that no one actually does anything about it. Nicky clearly looks her actual age, despite trying to age herself through outfits made for someone 10 years older. Looking at the character however, many of her actions make sense. There is be a definite resentment to Andre regarding his absenteeism following her parents’ divorce which spurs on this subconcious revenge of humiliating him. But there’s also a frustration with herself; an anger within Nicky which she can’t run away from that is further complicated by the changes taking place as she’s getting older
The crucial factor saving My Father the Hero from languishing in it’s uncomfortable plot is the fact that it is a genuinely hysterical film. The continuous shunning of Andre by his fellow guests never fails to draw laughs, especially since he can’t figure out why he’s being treated with such disapproval. The sequence in which a jealous Ben takes Andre and Nicky out on jet skis gives Depardieu a great chance at physical comedy and is incredibly entertaining. Just as funny are the exchanges between father and daughter. On their first night, as Andre is dremaily noticing the beauty of the full moon from the terrace, he calls Nicky (inside watching TV) to come and join him. After refusing his offer three times, he suddenly yells: “Will you come out and look at the God damned moon?!” When Nicky finally reveals to her father the lie she’s made up, he understandably lashes out. “They think I’m child molester,” he screams. “All you have to do is pretend to be my lover,” a pleading Nicky says to Andre, causing him to exclaim: “Argh! I hate that word! It’s so…graphic!” But nothing beats the movie’s most showstopping scene which sees Andre being coaxed into playing a Jaques Breil song for a hotel talent show. Not knowing the rumors about him, he launches into “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” as one by one the guests, feeling repulsed, exit, leaving a confused Andre once again wondering what it is going on.
It comes as no surprise that while the original version of My Father the Hero was an acclaimed hit, winning both awards and audience approval, the American version was a universal flop. Despite using the same lead actor (who supposedly had more fun playing Andre the second time around) and a more or less faithful version of the original script, the nature of the movie was never destined to sit well with the majority of American audiences. The cultural differences are apparent. Apart form the subject matter, what feels squarely in the vein of delightful European farce does come across as slightly sitcom-like once Americanized and probably helped fuel many of the negative reviews the movie received.
I’m still not sure if it was Depardieu’s name, or the success of the French version, but the fact that executives and censors thought the same setup would work stateside was a brave and interesting judgment call. The fondness I’ve always had towards My Father the Hero thankfully still remains, even if certain plot elements may be harder to embrace as I’ve gotten older. The movie’s charm is still intact, especially when it comes to the performances. Depardieu is the only one who could have played Andre as a man struggling to SOMEHOW do right by the person he loves the most before he loses her. for good. Energetic and animated, Depardieu remains the movie’s engine, helping it roar on when it could have broken down. In a bit of future typecasting, Heigl is great in an early lead role as a girl whose angry at the way her life has turned out, but realizes that she’ll always need her father, regardless of how much she tries to convince herself otherwise. In fact, if there’s one takeaway from My Father the Hero beyond the bellylaughs and the squeam factor, it’s that the strength of family is real, genuine and everlasting, much like the love which comes from it.
My Father the Hero is now available on Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.
