Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny From Start to Finsh!, September 15, 2003
There's a scene in "Dickie Roberts Former Child Star" where Dickie, played by David Spade, is playing poker with a large group of former child stars. Being a fan of old 60's-80's television shows, I found that I did reconize at least more then half of those stars. And when Barry Williams, who played Greg on "The Brady Bunch", was giving away items from some of the classic episodes from the old sitcom, I was laughing away in my seat."Dickie Roberts" is a form of comedy where even thought you know what is going to happen, it's still funny because of the way that it is brought out. It's done in a way that everything that you know will probally happen, happens when you least expect it. It's like watching a normal comedy, with everything happening out of order. Predictable, but surprising, if you could understand what I'm saying. The movie opens like an episode of "E! True Hollywood Story," where you learn a brief history of Dickie Roberts as a child star and Dickie Roberts as an adult. When he was a child he was the star of "The Glimmer Gang", with the famous catch phrase of "This is nucking futs." He never knew who his real father was, and once the show went off the air, his mother abandoned him. Now years later, Dickie is a thirty five year old parking valet, who wears gloves twenty four hours a day, who gets dumped by his girlfriend Cyndi. He finally decides to tryout for the new Rob Reiner film "Mr. Blakes Backyard", and he tries to get an audition from his agent, Sidney Wernick(played by Jon Lovitz perfectly.) After meeting with Reiner, he decides that Dickie looks just like he pictured when he wrote the script, but he is afraid that Dickie will not be able to handle the emotional aspect of the film, because he never experienced the main function of adulthood, which is a childhood. Reiner tells Dickie that he is waiting a few months to decide who will get the part, giving Dickie an idea. He decides to put an ad in the newspaper and hire a family to treat him like a kid for about one month, so he could see what it was like to be a kid. After some horrible meetings with people, he ends up on the driveway of The Finneys. Car salesmen dad George has agreed to the plan without talking to his wife, Grace, of their two children Sally and Sam. None of those three like the idea of having a stranger living in their house, but they agree to let him stay and for the next few weeks, Dickie experences what it is like to be a normal kid, without the fame. I like David Spade. I liked "The Adventures of Joe Dirt," and I liked him on the now cancelled show "Just Shoot Me." So naturally I was excited when I learned that he was going to be in this movie. Everybody worked well in this. All of the actors and actresses looked like they were all having a good time, which is good. I feel that it is a shame that this movie did not make as much mony as it did. So soon, if "Matchstick Men" is sold out(read earlier review) go see "Dickie Roberts Former Child Star."
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is Nuckin' Futs!, July 26, 2006
Being such a fan of films made by Saturday Night Live performers of Spade's era, it's amazing that I'd never actually seen this movie. I was told that it wasn't that good and that it wasn't Spade's best work - not measuring up to Tommy Boy, etc... I will admit that Tommy Boy was more memorable, but Dickie Roberts was quite a bit better than I was expecting it to be. I wish I had seen it sooner.
David Spade is the perfect actor to play this role of a washed-up former child star on the skids. He believes that he's still part of the "in crowd", but he always finds himself on the outside. The side of Spade displaying his quick-witted insults and harsh nature serve him well in this part and he does an excellent job with it.
The storyline is rather ridiculous, as is the case with most movies of this genre, from the SNL crew, but again, it hardly seems to make a difference. The movie is entertaining and lighthearted - not meant to be taken too seriously. I thought it was hilarious. There are some great one-liners, which Spade seems to have built his fame upon.
The supporting actors are also cast perfectly. Highly recommended for fans of this brand of comedy.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good surprise, February 12, 2006
I first saw this in the theater. Honestly, I had absolutely no intention of seeing this movie, but it was important to a friend of mine and somehow she convinced me to go with her. I like comedies, but I don't like things that are slap-stickish or that are geared solely for the pleasure of 12 year old boys.
I was pleasantly surprised with Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. This movie was incredibly funny and I loved watching Barry Williams, Leif Garrett, Corey Feldman, Danny Bonaducci, and Screech playing poker. Every game they play, Barry raises the stakes by adding souveniers from the Brady Bunch episodes telling them they can easily make money on ebay.
The movie is slightly absurd but it is hilarious. For me, it is funny because there honestly are people who think and act like Dickie does. They got so into the idea of fame that they would do absolutely anything to "make a comeback" even ride around in a baby stroller and go "ga-ga goo-goo".
I also enjoyed the children in the movie. They are so smart and witty and really hold their own against Dickie. They open up a whole world to him that he's never experienced before: a normal childhood. In the beginning, they hate him and make fun of him, but as they get to know eachother, the children learn from Dickie how to be self-confident and Dickie learns the value of love.
While some of the jokes are crude, they work for David Spade in a way that another actor would find it hard to get away with. David is able to combine a childlike wonder and innocence with vulgarity in such a way that you never completely dislike Dickie. There is enough hope and sincerity that you find yourself pushing for him even though he goes over the top to get what he wants.
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star is also filled with wonderful oddities like a celebrity wrestling match between David Spade and Emmanuel Lewis (of Webster fame), visits to AA and Lamaze, the Barry Williams poker games, and a witty song at the end featuring various child-stars from the 70's and 80's.
Quite enjoyable!
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