Charlie (Bob Crane) is a harried human resources manager for a shipping company. His boss (Joe Flynn) is on his back constantly, for they are having union negotiation troubles. At home, Charlie is experiencing some problems, too, as his soon-to-be-an-adult daughter, Wendy, is spending the summer with her beach friends, including Bart (Kurt Russell). One day, a television psychologist recommends that parents become more involved in their children's lives. Taking this to heart, Charlie first joins the beach crowd, where he discovers beach volleyball and water skiing may be near-lethal activities. Then, Charlie decides that a college farther away from this group of kids would be a good idea for Wendy. He pulls strings and Wendy is admitted, although she would prefer to stay near Bart and the gang. Will Charlie never stop interfering in Wendy's life? This is a fun movie with some good messages, too. The scenes where Charlie sets out to mingle with the beach group are hysterical, as he tries to compete physically with the younger set. In that role, Crane is a stitch and should be commended for his work, despite the dark side we now know he was hiding, in real life. Russell is, as always, a "hunk with charisma" and as sunny natured as they come. The rest of the cast, including Flynn, Dick Van Patten, Barbara Rush, and especially, Bruno Kirby, are top notch. Do you long for the good old days, when movies were cleaner but still humorous and heart-warming? Try hard to locate this film or catch it on the Disney Channel. It has charms and lessons for just about everyone.
Superdad
(1973)
Super might be too strong a word but this is still a good-and-funny family movie!
23 February 2007