DADDY DAY CAMP
Enjoyable but Melodramatic
What You Need To Know
Charlie Hinton returns to the Daddy Day Care service in the new DADDY DAY CAMP. Cuba Gooding, Jr. takes over the lead role that belonged to Eddie Murphy in the previous installment, DADDY DAY CARE.
In this outing, Charlie and his partner, Phil, played by Paul Rae, take their business to the great outdoors and start a children’s summer program at Camp Driftwood. Years ago, when Charlie and Phil were children, they attended this very camp and were beaten in a competition by their archrival, Lance Warner (Lochlyn Munro). Lance returns to run his own camp that will challenge Camp Driftwood once more in the annual competition. When Charlie’s group of children fails to stand up for themselves, Charlie looks for help wherever he can, this time in the form of his alienated military father.
Charlie wants to give his son an unforgettable summer but ends up feeling discouraged and out of luck. He has all the right intentions, but everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Charlie is a positive character who places his family above all else, while Lance accepts nothing but victory. Lance teaches his son that the only thing that matters is winning, even if you have to cheat. When his son fails to meet his standards, he denies that his son belongs to him. But don’t worry, the movie ends with a positive message, and Lance is rebuked time and time again.
Though DADDY DAY CAMP is a sequel, it is not so dependent on the first movie that you need to see the original before viewing this one. It stands on its own, both in style and story, which works to its advantage. You still feel like you are watching a new movie, but it has the benefit of name recognition and keeps some of the heart of DADDY DAY CARE.
The cast is new and has a new overall personality from the first installment. The absence of Eddie Murphy is unfortunate and leaves an obvious void, but Cuba Gooding, Jr. does a noteworthy job of filling his shoes. They almost seem to be playing different characters, but Cuba Gooding, Jr. fits in with this new vision of the franchise.
DADDY DAY CAMP has good intentions with a positive message. It is a lighthearted family movie that strongly encourages family values, trust, and teamwork. However, the acting is sometimes over the top, and it feels like the filmmakers are trying too hard to force heart-wrenching emotions out of you. It also contains light Romantic elements and some “bathroom” humor but nothing explicit. DADDY DAY CAMP tries to be child friendly, but some caution is required.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light Romantic worldview in which you should be accepting of everyone and, if you be yourself, you are a winner, plus some strong moral elements promote honesty, selflessness, and family; one light obscenity and no profanities, but some bathroom humor (see below); children shoot arrows that barely miss man, outhouse explodes, people shot with paintballs, children beat up adult; no sexual content, but boy mentions the “birds and the bees” and boy likes pretty girl; no nudity; no alcohol use; no smoking or drug use; and, boy pukes in a tent off screen, various bathroom humor, bad guys cheat but are rebuked, boy throws container of urine on other kid.
