Getting Even with Dad

Perhaps blackmail isn't an easy subject to warm up to, or robbery the best ground to rebuild a relationship on, but with a little care, some added ingredients and a bit more spice, Getting Even With Dad could have been a satisfying meal and not just an afternoon snack. [17 Jun 1994, p.H]

Getting Even With Dad halfheartedly aims to be another Home Alone, pitting inventive Timmy against bumbling Bobby and Carl. But the hijinks aren't nearly cartoonish or ingenious enough; instead, the movie is tinged with desperate, mean-spirited humor. [17 Jun 1994, p.G4]

It's genial entertainment, packed with the sort of nonsense kids love and a family-values message parents can respect, but it simply isn't focused or funny enough to convince anyone that Culkin - or co-star Ted Danson for that matter - has the chops for lasting stardom. [17 Jun 1994, p.8]

Getting Even With Dad desperately panders to the youth it hopes to attract. [17 Jun 1994, p.03]

The story is inane, the characters generate little sympathy and director Howard Deutch never gets this movie up to a decent running speed. [22 Jun 1994, p.5F]

A smug comedy about a precocious child who teaches his deadbeat dad about the true meaning of family, GETTING EVEN WITH DAD is only occasionally funny and commits every sin in the sitcom lexicon.

Ridiculous plot, dumb characters, foolish dilemmas. The only point to this movie is to make Macaulay a millionaire.