2017 American film
Father Figures (known as Who's Your Daddy? in the United Kingdom)[4] is a 2017 American comedy film directed by Lawrence Sher (in his directorial debut), written by Justin Malen, and starring Owen Wilson, Ed Helms, J.K. Simmons, Katt Williams, Terry Bradshaw, Ving Rhames, Harry Shearer, June Squibb, Christopher Walken, and Glenn Close with supporting roles by Jack McGee, Ryan Cartwright, Ryan Gaul, Ali Wong, Retta, Jessica Gomes, and Katie Aselton. The film follows two adult brothers who set out to find their biological father by encountering the men that their mother used to date.
Principal photography began on October 5, 2015, in Atlanta, and the film was released in the United States on December 22, 2017, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was poorly received by critics, who called it devoid of "energy or purpose" and grossed $25 million against its $25 million budget.[5]
Plot
In Westerville, Ohio, Kyle and Peter Reynolds are fraternal twins who were raised by their mother Helen as their father died before they were born. Kyle is dating his pregnant girlfriend Kaylani and is wealthy from royalties for his image on BBQ sauce labels. Peter is a divorced proctologist with a teenage son Ethan who resents him.
Shortly after Helen's wedding to Gene, Peter recognizes an actor on Law and Order: SVU from photos of his supposed father and confronts Helen. Helen explains that she had been promiscuous at the time of their conception, and did not want their father involved. When they keep pressing, Helen reveals that their father is Terry Bradshaw.
The brothers fly to Miami to meet Bradshaw who they encounter at a signing event. He is excited to have them as sons. As Bradshaw recounts stories with former teammate Rod Hamilton, they realize he had been in Australia at the time of their conception (a trip Helen had backed out of at the last minute) and thus isn't their father. Bradshaw points out that Roland Hunt, a New York investor, also dated Helen after him.
As they travel north after contacting Helen about him, Kyle finds that his BBQ sauce royalties deal is ending. Arriving at what they assumed was Hunt's office, they find a boarded-up house. Hunt confronts them at gunpoint until they reveal why they were looking for him. He invites them inside, but expresses his dissatisfaction at having children in front of his mother. As the brothers prepare to depart, they offer to help their father with his repossession service.
However, they realize that Hunt is a criminal when he breaks into a Ferrari. As the brothers argue with the owners of the car, Hunt flees only to feel remorse for abandoning his sons. The brothers steal the Ferrari and hit Hunt who was returning to them. At the hospital, the brothers find that they are incompatible to give Hunt blood, indicating that he cannot be their father. Hunt realizes that he was in prison at the time of their conception, but directs them to find another ex-boyfriend of Helen known as Sparkly P.
Unable to find Sparkly P, the brothers start driving for home. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker who provides advice as they travel. After accidentally parking on railroad tracks, Peter and the hitchhiker narrowly escape getting hit by a train, while Kyle is stuck in the car and presumably killed. Initially devastated, Peter is surprised to see Kyle walk away from the car, only to be punched by Kyle for abandoning him. As they are being treated, police officers recognize the name Sparkly P as a sting alias of Patrick O'Callaghan, a retired police officer in Worcester, Massachusetts. After dropping off the hitchhiker with his family in the same location, the brothers stop at a hotel where Peter falls for a girl named Sarah.
The brothers arrive at the house where there is a wake for Patrick. His daughter is invited to speak and Peter realizes that it is Sarah, his possible half-sister. Disgusted, Peter runs out of the wake. Patrick's twin brother Kevin clears things up by saying that Patrick can't be the father as he didn't believe in premarital sex, though Kevin directs them to the next of Helen's ex-boyfriends named Dr. Walter Tinkler. The brothers recall that Dr. Tinkler is a family friend and veterinarian in their home town.
Returning home, Kyle and Peter confront Dr. Tinkler in his office. After being called down, Helen arrives and reveals that she is not their biological mother. She and Dr. Tinkler had been working at a shelter when a young woman came in and gave birth. The woman died during childbirth and Helen chose to adopt Kyle and Peter instead of having them separated by social services. Helen also reveals she never knew their father at all. The brothers are happy to have learned their history.
One year later, Kyle, Peter, and Helen are on vacation in Maui. Peter is now dating Sarah and Ethan respects him. Kyle and Kaylani have twin daughters. The brothers have gone into business together and created an app that provides positive advice from the universe spoken by the hitchhiker.
Production
On June 14, 2011, it was announced that Paramount Pictures had acquired the rights to the comedy spec script Bastards, written by Justin Malen. The story is about two brothers who learn their father did not die when they were young.[6] The Montecito Picture Company was set to produce the film,[6] and on August 7, 2014, Alcon Entertainment also came on board to produce and finance the film, for Warner Bros., after Paramount left the project and the script went into turnaround. Cinematographer Lawrence Sher was attached to make his directorial debut,[7] and Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock, and Ali Bell produced the film through Montecito.[7]
Jason Sudeikis was originally attached to star. On July 15, 2015, Owen Wilson and Ed Helms were cast to play the brothers, while Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove were also set to produce the film, through Alcon.[8] J. K. Simmons and Terry Bradshaw also joined the cast on August 13, 2015, to play the lead characters' potential biological fathers, with Bradshaw playing himself.[9] On August 18, 2015, Ving Rhames signed on to play Rod Hamilton, a friend and ex-teammate of football player Bradshaw.[10] On September 11, 2015, Katt Williams joined the cast,[11] on September 17, 2015, Glenn Close was in final negotiations to join the film,[12] and on October 7, 2015, Katie Aselton was also in final talks to sign on.[13] On October 22, 2015, Zachary Haven also joined the cast.[14]
Filming
Principal photography on the film began on October 5, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia.[15] Filming also took place in Miami,[9] and wrapped on December 5, 2015.[16]
After poor test screenings, the film's initial ending was reshot to make it funnier and more consistent with the rest of the film. The reshoots took place in Rutledge, Georgia in April 2017.[17] The reshoots also included a scene involving Owen Wilson's character Kyle being chased by a field hockey team, though this was only seen in trailers and not included in the final film.[18][19]
Despite high scores from test audiences after the reshoots (which also removed Bill Irwin from the film as Doctor Tinkler and replaced him with Christopher Walken), the film still received negative reviews from critics and audiences upon its release.[20]
Release
Father Figures was originally scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. on November 4, 2016; it was later changed to January 27, 2017.[21] In January 2017, weeks before the film's planned release, the film was removed from the schedule.[22] It was later moved again to December 22, 2017.[23]
On September 15, 2017, the film was renamed from Bastards to Father Figures.[24] The title was changed because television advertisers would not play ads for the film with profanity in the title, as well as so that posters could be displayed in movie theaters.[25]
Reception
Box office
Father Figures grossed $17.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $8.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $25.6 million.[3]
In the United States and Canada, Father Figures was released alongside the openings of Downsizing and Pitch Perfect 3, and the wide expansions of The Shape of Water and Darkest Hour, and was projected to gross around $10 million from 2,902 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] It grossed $1.4 million on its first day and $3.2 million over the three-day weekend, finishing 9th at the box office. When factoring in inflation, it was the sixth-worst opening of all-time for a film playing in at least 2,500 theaters. Deadline Hollywood attributed the film's weak performance to audiences' diminished interest in R-rated comedies, the "been there, done that" plot line, and the possibility of outdated jokes, because the film was shot in 2015.[17] The next weekend, the film grossed $3.8 million (an increase of 16%), finishing 10th.[26]
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 17% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 3.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Success has many fathers, but failure is Father Figures".[27]
On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 22 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale, while social media monitor RelishMix noted online responses to the film were "leaning toward the negative".[17]
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