Like Father is a 2018 comedy/drama about a workaholic woman left at the altar who takes her honeymoon trip anyway with her overachieving father.
I’m surely not alone in confessing that I have a genuine thing for Kristen Bell. She’s smart, funny, crackerjack sharp and hopelessly endearing, making just about anything she does, no matter the project, super fun. Have you seen The Good Place? You should. In Lauren Miller Rogen‘s debut film Like Father, she’s all the reason one really needs in tuning in, even if the movie itself just sort of meanders along rather blandly, ticking off all the familiar highlights we’ve come to expect in such a flick.
On her wedding day, Rachel (Bell) is ready to tie the knot with Owen (Jon Foster) though she’s late for the walk down the aisle ’cause she’s on the phone with her advertising company. It’s typical, and its reason why Owen suddenly calls it off, just when he’s supposed to say “I Do,” leaving her abandoned on the biggest day of her life. Sitting in the audience though is her estranged father Harry (Kelsey Grammer), who long ago left the family. Harry reaches out to reconnect, asking to share a drink with his daughter, and the next thing they know, they’ve woken up on the Harmony of the Seas, hungover on her honeymoon cruise ship. Problem is, the crew and staff all think they are newlyweds. Desperate to get back to an important potato chip account, she ends up having to deal with Harry as the ship sails along into a new destiny.
Like Father is one of those feel-good comedies that plays precisely by the rules, even as it works (seemingly) hard to be edgy and throw some genuine drama into the mix. With Bell and Grammer, there are many ripe moments when it feels like wants to take some risks and poke the bear per se, dealing with some raw family history. Harry left his wife and daughter twenty-six years earlier, and now wants only to mend fences. This alone could have served up some sharp moments but Rogen (who is the wife of Seth Rogen) can’t quite push the film into either compelling drama or, on the other side of the coin, well-earned laughs, which – given the premise – seems loaded for bear.
Sadly, the film mostly takes place among the many dazzling decks of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, ending up feeling like a 98-minute sponsored plug as Rachel and Harry partake in a long string of vacation package activities. These include all the bonding exercises needed to bring daughter and father closer together and puts them in the company of the usual group of oddball couples who share their adventures. It’s not that it’s boring, it’s just obvious, and a carbon copy of so many others like it. Are there funny bits? Sure, a couple of good chuckles, thanks mostly to Bell. Are there some tugs on the heart? Naturally, as Grammer manages to wring a few solid emotional moments. Seth Rogen also makes an appearance as the new love interest and does what we expect.
I had high hopes for Like Father, the teasers on Netflix making it really look like something significant. However, while it certainly isn’t a waste, it’s just all too been-there-done-that, with barely any momentum to give it any spark. Fans of Bell with lap up her finely-honed habits put to good use, but more so, if you’re by chance pondering a cruise and looking for an inside tour of what’s in store, this has you covered.