''Father of Invention'' is a 2010 American

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by Trent Cooper, and stars

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

, Camilla Belle and

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

Synopsis

Robert Axle, a

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

-based infomercial guru, loses it all when one of his inventions maims thousands of customers. After eight years in a maximum-security prison, Axle is ready to redeem his name and rebuild his billion-dollar empire. But first he must convince his estranged daughter to let him live with her and her quirky, over-protective roommates.

Cast

as Robert Axle *

Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Pr ...

as Lorraine * John Stamos as Steven "Steve" Leslie Thurmond *

as Troy Coangelo * Camilla Belle as Claire Elizabeth (formerly Axle but dropped the last name after her father went to prison.) *

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...

as Phoebe *

Michael Rosenbaum Michael Owen Rosenbaum (born July 11, 1972) is an American actor and podcaster. He is known for portraying Lex Luthor on the Superman television series ''Smallville'', a role that ''TV Guide'' included in their 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Vill ...

as Eddie * Anna Anissimova as Donna * Craig Robinson as Jerry *

Rhoda Griffis Rhoda Griffis (born January 9, 1965) is an American actress who has played supporting roles both in independent and mainstream films and television. Life and career Griffis appeared onstage in ''Angels in America'', '' Proof'', '' Collected Sto ...

as Penny Camp * Jack McGee *

Danny Comden Danny Hill Comden is an American actor, director, film producer and writer. He is best known for playing Stevie Hanson in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''I'm with Her (TV series), I'm with Her'', Blake in ''Urban Legend (film), ...

as Matt James *

Marc Macaulay Marc Macaulay (born October 13, 1957) is an American actor. Early life and career He was born and raised in Millinocket, Maine. He graduated with a BFA in theater. He appeared in the USA Network Series '' Burn Notice'' for five episodes as Age ...

as Grocery Store Clerk * Audra Marie as Businessman's Date * Mary Elizabeth Cobb as Sheila *

Julia Lashae Julia Lashae (born Julia Louise Lawshae; July 22, 1969) is an American actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in mo ...

as Lily’s Mother

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has a 0% rating based on reviews from 16 critics, with an average rating of 3.82/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

the film has a score of 36% based on reviews from 8 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Kirk Honeycutt of

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

wrote: "Comedies don't get much more unfunny than Father of Invention, a lame and somewhat preachy comic take on a father trying to get back into his daughter's good graces."

References

External links

* * 2010 films 2010 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Films shot in New Orleans 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{2010s-comedy-drama-film-stub