My Father the Hero (1994)

Good concept, poorly executed.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

All "Andre" (Gerard Depardieu) wants is to spend some quality time with his 14 year-old daughter "Nicole" (Katherine Heigl). So he takes her to Jamaica for a nice vacation. However, when she gets there she happens to fall in love with a young man named "Ben" (Dalton James) and in order to impress him says that she is actually 18 and that Andre is her lover who rescued her from a life of crime and drugs. One thing leads to another and soon the entire resort is under the impression that Andre is a child molester and treat his friendly gestures with complete disdain. Meanwhile, Nicole discovers that in order to continue the ruse she has to continue stretching the truth even more out-of-balance than ever before. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that, in spite of the risqué subject matter, this turned out to be a nice little comedy. I especially liked the scene where Andre is asked to play the piano and he chooses a song that infuriates the crowd. In any case, I enjoyed this movie and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

This is available as a "new" Netflix streaming movie online. I was curious about Heigl, she is now an established TV actress but I had never seen her in an early role. I find that she was better then than she is now. She reminded me of a blond Natalie Portman at the same ages.This is the story. Her dad is Gérard Depardieu as Andre, divorced from her mother. Katherine Heigl is the daughter Nicole, living in New York, and 14 getting ready to turn 15. (She was actually about 15 during filming.) Dad is picking her up to take her to the Bahamas on a 10- day vacation.Dad is unprepared for how grown up his young daughter has become, including a very revealing swimsuit. Then things get very complicated as Nicole begins to tell others that Andre is actually her lover. Pretty risqué for a 14-yr-old character. The biggest complication comes when a boy, Dalton James as Ben, takes and interest in Nicole, and is perplexed that she would have such an older boyfriend. Everything comes clear when she gets stranded on a sailboard, Andre goes to the rescue, almost drowns, and Nicole is calling him dad.But all ends well as she writes a letter of apology to Ben, and the movie ends with them embracing on the beach.Nothing significant or memorable, but it is fun to see Heigl in an early role.

This movie is a funny comedy about a father and daughter vacationing at some tropical island,where the daughter falls for some boy and trying to pass for what she thinks is "cool",she makes up a preposterous story about her father. I read some of the negative comments,i think those people didn't get the main point of this movie,that exactly because the lie is so preposterous,all the situations are so funny. Besides the funny situations ,the movie has a few nice points to make,that young people often lie to appear "cool" but the only cool thing of course is to be who you are.Then,also it makes a nice point even though its exaggerated of course,what hardships good parents have to go through for their children's happiness.Also,that parents ,sometimes can also learn from their kids about their own life. Depardieu is great in this,and Heigl is also good.i don't agree that there is a huge difference between this version and the French one. In the French one,Depardieu has naturally some more facility with the language but he does a good job in English,also the American version has better production values than the french one and has some extra jokes about what Americans think about the French stereotype,which are funny and don't exist in the French version.

MY Father the hero is sweet, funny and cute. Gerard Depardiu is awesome as Andre, a divorced father who takes his fourteen year old daughter Nicole(Kathrine Heigl) to the Caribbean for vacation.While there, his daughter meets a guy named Ben(Dalton James. To impress him, she tells him that Andre is her lover and that her father is in jail for armed robbery and her mother is a prostitute and that she ran off with her pimp. Everyone on the island is soon under the impression that Andre's a child molester. Andre is between two relationships. One with Isabelle(Emma Thompson, who makes a cameo in the end of the film) and Diana(Faith Prince from Spin City). My father the Hero has many funny moments. Like when he's at a talent show and everyone tells him to play something french. So he plays "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" from Gigi. Everyone gets disgusted and leaves. My Father the Hero doesn't deserve a 5.1. I think it deserves a 9.0.