Surprisingly cute, even, and enjoyable
Added 11/18/2009
As a teenager over 20 years ago I remember laughing long and hard at "Beverly Hills Cop" and even Eddie Murphy's generally irreverent and profane humor. But as a parent I am glad to see him using his talents in a more family friendly way, even if it usually borders on slapstick or over-the-top humor like Jim Carrey (this one didn't quite go that far). And I must admit that the commercials featuring that stupidly annoying kid throwing plastic balls at him in the playground didn't put this one on my "must-see" list. But my wife rented it one night and I was pleasantly surprised.
Murphy plays Evan Danielson, an aggressive workaholic investment consultant with no time for family - in fact, he's divorced and has no connection with his daughter, Olivia (about 6 years old, I think). But when he's forced to care for her for a week he's insensitive to her security blanket and imaginary friends... until he realizes that these friends are giving surprisingly accurate investment advice. And thus begins a relationship with his daughter that, although not initially based on the right reasons, opens his eyes to what he's missing out on.
I'm not exactly a devotee of this type of movie and haven't really seen any of Murphy's films since Disney's "The Haunted Mansion" (which was very disappointing compared to "Pirates of the Caribbean"), but my kids and I really enjoyed this one. I didn't notice any foul language and any crude jokes must have gone right over my head. Yara Shahidi was perfectly cute as his neglected daughter, and Thomas Hayden Church was particularly funny as Johnny Whitefeather, his main competition at work with phony Native American investing advice. The plot-line may be formulaic and in some ways the moral-of-the-story done a bit too Hollywood-ish, but I thought the movie was quite fun, and definitely better than I expected.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Unimpressive Family Feature.
Added 11/16/2009
It is a family friendly movie. But it is so lame, it is very hard to watch it all. I could not.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Imagine That!
Added 11/2/2009
I wasn't sure if this movie was going to be corny or not being a childrens movie and all - but I was surprised at how funny it was! I loved Eddie Murphy in "Daddy Day Care" and loved him in this movie equally as much! This movie isn't appropriate for younger ages (it's rated PG) and I believe it's PG because of some adult humor - but it's nothing you wouldn't see on TV and no foul language is used! "Imagine That" has a really cute message for all ages!
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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FABULOUS MOVIE! WORTH YOUR MONEY! A MUST-SEE FOR ALL AGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Added 7/28/2009
I LOVED this movie! It is fantastic! Great story, great plot, great ending, great actors, great message - I LOVED IT! It was really, for me, Eddie Murphy's best movie yet! I am a big fan of Eddie Murphy and I feel this movie was fantastic! It was funny, sweet and adventerous and had many positive advantages throughout it all. The perfect family movie! Please people, do not pay ANY attention to the bad 1-star/2-star reviews! TAKE IT FROM ME! THIS MOVIE WAS FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE PERFECT FAMILY COMEDY MOVIE!
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Mixed bag of good and bad
Added 7/4/2009
For a movie so obviously aimed at families, why couldn't it be just a bit more family friendly? Some of the language was needlessly crude; if you wouldn't use certain words in a job interview, why would you use them in a family movie?
The plot was sweet enough, and the little girl played by Yara Shahidi was adorable. The Johnny Whitefeather character was an amusing lampoon of new-age mysticism, though the whole movie experience was more like a laughing-on-the-inside kind of funny.
I was also troubled that kids might walk away from this movie with the impression that truly loving parents are supposed to be their child's ultimate playmate. What kid wouldn't love their parents playing dress-up, being the object of a beauty makeover, making and eating (or pretending to eat) disgusting foods, and being a dancing puppet controlled by their child's commands? Kids need parental love and attention; pandering to them is a cheap substitute for consistency.
1 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Surprisingly cute, even, and enjoyable
Added 11/18/2009
As a teenager over 20 years ago I remember laughing long and hard at "Beverly Hills Cop" and even Eddie Murphy's generally irreverent and profane humor. But as a parent I am glad to see him using his talents in a more family friendly way, even if it usually borders on slapstick or over-the-top humor like Jim Carrey (this one didn't quite go that far). And I must admit that the commercials featuring that stupidly annoying kid throwing plastic balls at him in the playground didn't put this one on my "must-see" list. But my wife rented it one night and I was pleasantly surprised.
Murphy plays Evan Danielson, an aggressive workaholic investment consultant with no time for family - in fact, he's divorced and has no connection with his daughter, Olivia (about 6 years old, I think). But when he's forced to care for her for a week he's insensitive to her security blanket and imaginary friends... until he realizes that these friends are giving surprisingly accurate investment advice. And thus begins a relationship with his daughter that, although not initially based on the right reasons, opens his eyes to what he's missing out on.
I'm not exactly a devotee of this type of movie and haven't really seen any of Murphy's films since Disney's "The Haunted Mansion" (which was very disappointing compared to "Pirates of the Caribbean"), but my kids and I really enjoyed this one. I didn't notice any foul language and any crude jokes must have gone right over my head. Yara Shahidi was perfectly cute as his neglected daughter, and Thomas Hayden Church was particularly funny as Johnny Whitefeather, his main competition at work with phony Native American investing advice. The plot-line may be formulaic and in some ways the moral-of-the-story done a bit too Hollywood-ish, but I thought the movie was quite fun, and definitely better than I expected.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Unimpressive Family Feature.
Added 11/16/2009
It is a family friendly movie. But it is so lame, it is very hard to watch it all. I could not.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Imagine That!
Added 11/2/2009
I wasn't sure if this movie was going to be corny or not being a childrens movie and all - but I was surprised at how funny it was! I loved Eddie Murphy in "Daddy Day Care" and loved him in this movie equally as much! This movie isn't appropriate for younger ages (it's rated PG) and I believe it's PG because of some adult humor - but it's nothing you wouldn't see on TV and no foul language is used! "Imagine That" has a really cute message for all ages!
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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