"Super Dad" (1973)

I first saw this movie in middle school on 16mm film. So I was elated to see it again on 35mm at the New Beverly.

It's a strange movie, in that...it's actually a pretty grim movie, aside from the fact that Bob Crane is in the movie. Take out the deviant nature of the guy, the movie still feels...really sitcom-ish.

The movie is about a father Charlie McCready (Bob Crane), who on the eve of his little girl turning college aged, his biggest worry is that she marry someone...serious. The little girl Wendy (Kathleen Cody) grew up with some beach bums. But they're teenagers so why the fuck would they care about...life. They just want to push that all away. Well, the day has come, and now dad is desperate to see his daughter get serious. So he fakes a scholarship so she would go to his college and marry someone...serious. Times have changed, and we're at the tail end of hippie generation. The fictional college (which I assume is either Berkeley or Stanford) is full of anti-government strife. Wendy falls into the "wrong crowd" and must now be rescued by pop AND a boy she grew up with and loves Bart (Kurt Russell).

A few questions occurred to me this time around...where the fuck is Bart's parents? You would think as these two kids grew up together, the families would also know each other. They are nowhere to be seen.

If he wanted her to go to college and be serious, why does this movie end in a wedding?

Oh well, it's Disney and none of these questions need to be answered, but they are nagging. The movie is also odd in that, it becomes some strange balance between wanting to be a Disney movie and making a serious movie (especially when it comes to confronting hippies). It can't be both. It's uncomfortable as even the threatening villain is so corny. As one patron of the theater put it "he's Bob Ross corny."

This movie is that 70's Disney. Herbie, Darn Cat and that era. I grew up with it, and appreciate the churned out sensibility of...well, optimism despite the more cynical world view. Keep in mind, this movie was made at around the time they were making "Dirty Harry." So a LOT of the language is really outdated. It doesn't seem like Disney knew how to talk like a thug, or know what fear really was. They still had to skate the "kids movie" feel. So...that's that.

I think it's worth a look if you can find it. I like movies that end in weddings. Not sure why. Maybe because the stress drives people batty. "Super Dad" was a failure at the box office, but it is a cool look at Disney in the 70's trying to find an identity in a live action cruel world.