Daddy Day Care

2003 Comedy

Two fathers get a crash course in caring for kids other than their own in this family-friendly comedy. Charlie Hinton (Eddie Murphy) is an advertising executive whose job monopolizes his time, making it difficult for him to stay in touch with his young son, Ben (Khamani Griffin). However, after Charlie and his partner, Phil (Jeff Garlin), are given their pink slips in the wake of a disastrous campaign for a new breakfast cereal, Charlie's wife, Kim (Regina King), goes back to work, and with the family budget tighter than before, Charlie becomes a stay-at-home dad. After pulling Ben out of an expensive and exclusive daycare center run by the humorless Gwyneth Harridan (Anjelica Huston), Charlie comes up with a brainstorm -- since he and Phil watch their own children every day, how much harder could it be to watch a few more kids and open their own day care center? Charlie and Phil discover there's much more to running a daycare center than they ever imagined, but after a very rough start, with the help of likable slacker Marvin (Steve Zahn) their new business becomes a success -- so much so that Harridan finds herself losing customers to the upstart fathers, and she starts searching for a way to shut them down. more..

Director: Steve Carr

Starring: Eddie Murphy,Jeff Garlin,Anjelica Huston, Steve Zahn, Regina King

Reviews

  • A harmless and amusing summer comedy.

    C.W. Nevius - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • If you attend the movie with your expectations lowered by Murphy's recent films, you'll be reasonably amused.

    Stephen Hunter - The Washington Post

    19 January 2013

  • An easy-on-the-sensibilities family film, Eddie Murphy practically assumes the easygoing manner of Mister Rogers, a character he used to wickedly lampoon on "Saturday Night Live."

    Desson Thomson - The Washington Post

    19 January 2013

  • His (Eddie Murphy's) performance in Daddy Day Care isn't bad. He's restrained, and even tender in some of the scenes he plays with the kids. But restraint is the last thing we want from a comic of his caliber. It's no fun at all.

    Joe Morgenstern - The Wall Street Journal

    19 January 2013

  • Aggressively simple-minded, it's fueled by the delusion that it has a brilliant premise: Eddie Murphy plus cute kids equals success. But a premise should be the starting point for a screenplay, not its finish line.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • David Newman

    BMI Film & TV Awards (2004)

  • Best Comedy

    Golden Trailer Awards (2003)

     
  • Favorite Movie

    Kids' Choice Awards (2004)

     
  • Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Actor Age Ten or Younger

    Young Artist Awards (2004)