This is a good movie for fathers and daughters to enjoy as well as the entire family. It includes a great scene in which a father and daughter make pancakes and every topping imaginable winds up on them including mustard! Eddie Murphy plays a father named Evan who doesn’t give enough attention to his daughter, Olivia. He loves her but is caught up in his job, trying to compete against a man known as Mr. Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church), who always seems to have a gimmick to sell the clients. When Olivia comes to stay for awhile with Evan (he and his wife are divorced) he is astonished to learn that her make-believe friends, who are brought to them by her magical blanket, have great financial advice! He begins to move ahead in his job by having Olivia consult her friends. In the process, father and daughter get closer. His ignorance as a father is obvious in one humorous scene when he sees the TV program “Blue’s Clues” and tells his daughter to watch “Barney” on TV!
There are a few name calling scenes in the film, and a man who claims to be a Native American makes some stereotypical Indian jokes. However, the development of Murphy’s character, Evan, is fun to watch and Murphy has the ability to twist his face into all kinds of funny faces. And he becomes a really good dad. Eddie Murphy takes a good turn in this family-friendly film. This movie does go for the cutes in a few scenes, but it is really funny. Imagine that.
