“Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star” (Paramount Pictures)
David Spade has an end of the summer comedy in theaters titled “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star.” This movie takes a look at the lives of kid stars after they grow up. All they want is a chance at a comeback and they will literally do anything to get it, or at least Dickie Roberts will.
Dickie (Spade) has been reduced to parking cars for a living while he waits for that big comeback break. His friends tell him it is never going to happen, but what do they know They are Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, Leif Garrett and other former child stars.
Finally Dickie gets a chance to audition for a Rob Reiner film, but Reiner rejects him on the basis that Dickie never had a normal childhood so he doesn’t know how to be a mature adult. This prompts Dickie to hire a “regular” family to raise him for a month.
George (Craig Bierko), his wife Grace (Mary McCormack) and their two kids bring Dickie into their home. Grace is against the idea but George thinks it will be a money making proposition as he can use Dickie to help promote his car dealership.
Once Dickie gets settled into this new home the movie changes from being a silly comedy to being a sentimental “family” film. Except this family film still has a lot of profanity and crude humor. The movie has a PG-13 rating but the boundaries of that classification are stretched pretty thin.
In watching this film the audience will either feel sad for the desperation of the former child stars who pop up in cameos, or embarrassed by their willingness to make fun of themselves. This is especially true in the “we are the world” song that pops up as the credits roll. A who’s who of the kid stars of the past belt out this crude and unfunny testimonial to themselves and it is painful to watch.
“Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star” is aimed at kids who will get some fun out of Spade’s silly antics, but the language and crudity of the jokes may make parents have second thoughts about how appropriate it is for the small folks’ viewing.
I scored “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star” a present day 3 out of 10.
