''My Father the Hero'' is a 1994

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

directed by

Steve Miner Stephen C. Miner (born June 18, 1951) is an American director of film and Television program, television, film producer, and a member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is notable for his work in the horror genre, including '' ...

and starring

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

and

Katherine Heigl Katherine Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and model. She portrayed Izzie Stevens, Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that b ...

. It is an English-language

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of the 1991 French film '' Mon père, ce héros,'' which starred Depardieu in a similar role.

Plot

Nicole (

) is 14 and goes on vacation in the Bahamas with her father André Arnel (

). She falls in love with 17-year-old Ben (

Dalton James Dalton James (born March 19, 1971) is an American actor. He was born in Sacramento, California. Biography Dalton played the role of Hank Bennett on ''Passions'' and the role of Mark Reese on ''Beverly Hills, 90210''. He was also in the movi ...

) but her dad finds him way too old for her. Tired of being treated like a child, Nicole makes up a whole story to make herself more interesting, where André is actually her lover who saved her from a life of debauchery a few years earlier. André is unaware of his daughter's lies and the reputation she is building him, leading to a cascade of misunderstandings and misled confrontations.

Cast

as André Arnel, Nicole's father *

as Nicole Arnel, André's daughter *

as Ben *

Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...

as Megan Arnel, André's ex-wife and Nicole's mother *

Faith Prince Faith Prince is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on Broadway in musical theatre. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in ''Guys and Dolls'' in 1992, and received three other Tony nominations. Life and career Prince wa ...

as Diana *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor and writer. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in ''Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television ch ...

as Mike *

Ann Hearn Ann Hearn (born Ann Neel Simons) is an American actress and stage director, born in Griffin, Georgia, and now living in Los Angeles, California with her actor-husband Stephen Tobolowsky. Her most prominent roles were with Jodie Foster in '' The A ...

as Stella * Robyn Peterson as Doris *

Frank Renzulli Frank Renzulli is an American film actor, writer, and producer. As an Emmy nominated writer and Golden Globe winner, Renzulli has written teleplays for ''The Sopranos'', mainly in the first two seasons, and another Emmy nominated episode in the ...

as Fred * Manny Jacobs as Raymond * Jeffrey Chea as Pablo * Stephen Burrows as Hakim * Michael Robinson as Tom * Robert Miner as Mr. Porter * Betty Miner as Mrs. Porter *

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...

as Isobel, André's girlfriend (''uncredited'') * as Alberto

Filming

Filming occurred during the summer of 1993. It was filmed on Paradise Island, Bahamas at the One & Only Resort, which was later renamed The Ocean Club by Four Seasons Resort.

Reception

Box office

The film debuted at number 4 at the US box office behind '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'', ''

Mrs. Doubtfire ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus, written by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the 1987 novel '' Madame Doubtfire'', by Anne Fine. The film was produced by Mark Radcliffe, Mars ...

'' and ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

''. It went on to gross $25.5 million in the United States and Canada and $19.3 million internationally for a worldwide total of $44.8 million.

Critical response

The film received negative reviews from critics.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

wrote, in her review of the film for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', that "nothing else about the film is moving, but its Bahamian beachfront scenery just might make you cry." Peter Rainer of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' opened his ''

'' review of the film by writing:

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

wrote that "if Depardieu seems right at home in 'My Father the Hero,' perhaps that is because only two years ago he made a French film called 'Mon Pere, Ce Heros,' with exactly the same plot. I saw it, and would say it was more or less exactly as appealing as this English version. Once was a time when Hollywood would buy the rights to French hits ("Three Men and a Cradle") and remake them. Now they buy the recycling rights as soon as the original is released, and hold it out of the American market, which in this case was no great loss." On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...

, the film has a rating of 20%, based on 15 reviews, with an average score of 4.4/10.

Year-end lists

* Top 10 worst (alphabetical order, not ranked) – William Arnold, ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

'' * Worst (not ranked) – Bob Ross, ''

The Tampa Tribune ''The Tampa Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Tampa, Florida. Along with the competing ''Tampa Bay Times'', the ''Tampa Tribune'' was one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area. The newspaper also published a ''St. P ...

Soundtrack

The film featured music and appearances by the Bahamian junkanoo band

Baha Men Baha Men are a Bahamian junkanoo band formed in New Providence, Bahamas in 1977. They are best known for their Grammy Award-winning hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out". History Early years Baha Men formed in 1977 as High Voltage, initially play ...

. The group's songs create the movie's island soundtrack. *"Back to the Island" *"Mo' Junkanoo" *"Gin and Coconut Water (Traditional)" *"Land of the Sea and Sun" *"Oh, Father" *"Island Boy"

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:My Father The Hero 1994 films 1994 romantic comedy films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films American remakes of French films American romantic comedy films Films about father–daughter relationships Films about vacationing Films directed by Steve Miner Films scored by David Newman (composer) Films shot in the Bahamas Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Francis Veber Touchstone Pictures films English-language romantic comedy films Films based on works by Gérard Lauzier