 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Father
Hood
|
 |
|
What on earth went wrong with Father Hood? The credits promise an interesting, off-beat, comedy-drama: co-produced by Nicholas Pileggi (author of Scorsese's Goodfellas, 1990), scripted by Scott Spencer (Endless Love, 1981), directed by Darrell James Roodt (who made the intriguing anti-apartheid musical Sarafina!, 1992), and starring Patrick Swayze as a boyish criminal, in the mode of Richard Gere's classic role in Breathless (1983). The video trailer for this film works hard to make it seem like a knockabout, rock'n'roll farce, as Jack (Swyaze) busts his kids out of foster care and races across America evading the cops. The filmmakers, while fumbling to keep a foot in light comedy, entertain rather graver ideas. The story quickly turns into a heavy-handed exploration of dysfunctional families, and the institutional abuse of homeless children. Chris Menges' underrated CrissCross (1992) handled a similar mix of genres – family melodrama, action movie, whimsical comedy – with far greater aplomb, although both films are afflicted with the familiar Wonder Years syndrome, pasting a wetly reflective, first person narration over proceedings. Although Sabrina Lloyd makes a good impression as Jack's doeful teenage daughter, Swyaze himself is hopelessly miscast, and Diane Ladd turns in a truly bizarre cameo as Jack's gambler-with-a-heart-of-gold mum. © Adrian Martin May 1994 |
