Getting Even with Dad

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) | Release Date: June 17, 1994

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

31	METASCORE Generally unfavorable reviews based on 26 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Watch Now

Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

Marjorie Baumgarten

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

Peter Rainer

Kiddies longing for a Mac attack this summer won’t be enlivened by the tepid shenanigans and mushy maunderings of Getting Even With Dad. Read full review

Caryn James

Both Mr. Danson and Mr. Culkin make the film's predictable ending far more effective than it might have been. They are warm without being sappy. It's too bad that the audience, parents and children, are likely to have grown restless long before then. Read full review

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

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. Read full review

Desson Thomson

This 110-minute movie never seems to end, even after the various, idiotic storylines are finally resolved. After plying the audience with formulaic predictability, Getting Even doesn't even have the decency to end quickly. Read full review

Rita Kempley

The fun never stops because it never starts.

EmpireJane Stefanski

Designed to showcase Culkin at the expense of everyone else, this will have trouble appealing to the adult contingent of the family audience it's aimed at. Read full review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

A movie not funny enough for a comedy, not touching enough for a heart-warmer, and not energetic enough for a story about a robbery of rare coins — Danson and Culkin end up exposing all their weaknesses. Read full review

Jay Carr

Getting Even with Dad never allows us to forget that it's never more than a manufactured object untouched by quality control. [17 Jun 1994, p.78]

Staff (Not Credited)

Ted Danson gets in a little practice for serious dramatic roles with a solid performance in this otherwise forgettable piece of fluff. [17 Jun 1994, p.15]

The GuardianDerek Malcolm

Altogether, this is a dim affair, lacking Hollywood's usual, gooey efforts to convince one of the benefits of family values. [04 Aug 1994, p.T7]

Carrie Rickey

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

Joe Holleman

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]