Before I get into the actual merits of the film, it would be extremely remiss to not preface that with the real reason behind how and why this film came to be in the first place, a remake of a French film that was made only 3 years prior. For those of you who don't already know, Gerard Depardieu is basically a living legend in French cinema, so why not for American cinema too? Surely the whole world will love him just as much as the French do! In a mouthful, that's taking a lot for granted.

Personally I never understood the mass appeal of this man in France. He's an A-list actor there, and while I don't begrudge him that, he's also become a bit of a phenomenon. In fact, you really don't have the American equivalent. To make it clearer, Americans really don't have ONE guy upon who's shoulder they can rest the entire history of American cinema. Gerard Depardieu is basically that guy in France. He's essentially to film what Elvis Presley was to music. This film was the film that was intended to launch Depardieu's acting debut in America, and make him a household name in America, so after being almost universally panned by critics, why didn't it work?

Of all the screenplays they could have chosen for an American breakout feature, this one really was a curious choice. It's a film that deals with an incestuous, pedophilic subject. Europeans find this cute and funny, and the idea of older/younger relationships, as well as coming of age stories were a bit of a guilty pleasure over there for awhile, whereas those type of themes tend to creep out most Americans to the point where they would have trouble appreciating the comedy and irony in this type of film. That being said, even in Europe this type of pseudo-sex comedy was already on the way out by the mid 90s anyway. The "pseudo-sexual" aspect in and of itself is at the core of this film's lack of appeal to an American Audience. It's NOT really a sex comedy. It's PG rated with little to no sexual intrigue, so it's not going to appeal to young adults, and it's sure as hell not the type of thing most Americans would want to show to their kids.

So how did the "Americanization" of this massive cultural disconnect go? Simply put, not well! For starters, French humour relies heavily on character comedy. As such, erratic mood swings and exaggerated reactions are common in French comedies. The end result is, Depardieu's acting comes across as forced; he overacts basically, and in combination with his thick accent and scripted English expressions that only a native English speaker would say, it comes across as extremely awkward and wooden. It's like trying to tell a joke in a foreign language when you barely understand the words coming out of your mouth. It's hard to distinguish when he's trying to be funny or when he's trying to be serious, and unlike actors like Michael Caine, he's bad at blending the two.

One thing I find quite funny is how they tried to soften Depardieu's character in the American version to make him more likeable. For example, in the original, he beats his daughter twice, and he beats the woman he met at the resort once. All times in a matter of fact way as if not intended to illicit any type of audience reaction. Not so in the American Version. How's that for a cultural disconnect? In this version he comes across as more silly and light hearted, whereas in the original he comes across as a bit of a crank with a serious anger problem, and not likeable at all. There's definitely a "please like me!" aspect to this film which you'd probably only pick up on if you saw the original, but I definitely couldn't stop thinking about it, watching this.

So how did this film compare to the original? Believe it or not, I still thought this film was slightly better than the original. Even though most of the scenes are essentially copy and pasted, this director staging the scenes more naturally and less forced. In the original, one plot premise is constantly feeding into another. He also quite sensibly cut out the violent altercation where Depardieu punches out the resort's cook, right before he undergoes his failed attempt to rescue his daughter. In the original he's whisked into an ambulance, and never gets charged for commiting assault, whereas in this film he's brought back to the guesthouse to sleep it off. Again, much more natural and less forced, this being the most extreme example of that.

Ultimately though, neither are very good films. I suppose it didn't hurt that Katherine Heigl is much more attractive than the girl in the original film. Opposing that are things like the speedboat scene which in this film is more over-the-top than in the original, plus the entire premise itself comes across as forced, moreso in this film, especially when Depardieu's character spontaneously starts singing a song about little girls, completely oblivious to the fact that everyone at the resort thinks he's a pedophile. The scene that really kills it for me though in both films is the scene towards the end where the father is hiding in the bushes feeding lines to his daughter as she speaks to her male love interest in the film. So needlessly ridiculous.

Steve Miner's film My Father the Hero, a remake of French film Mon père, ce héros that came out just three years earlier, is definitely a film that shows its age. It exudes mid-90s aesthetic from its music, clothing, and overacting, but surprisingly still becomes a gem of a film almost two decades later. The only reason I can say that is because of the wonderful performance from Gérard Depardieu. In a role that asks him to play the fool at every turn, even to partaking in a John Candy/Great Outdoors type water-skiing incident, the Frenchman goes for it completely and as a result benefits the entire production. Caught inside a lie that he is unaware of—a lie that his daughter has been spreading, saying she and he are lovers—his reactions to the disgust of the other vacationers in the Bahamas are priceless. Completely oblivious to what he sees as absurdity on their part, Depardieu steals the show and makes what would otherwise be a throwaway film worth a rental. And thankfully so, because its other draw would be seeing a young Katherine Heigl before her, in my opinion, unwarranted explosion of late, post-"Grey's Anatomy". If that were the only reason to see it, I'd have said stay far away.

Okay, maybe that was a bit too harsh. In all actuality, this may be my favorite role by Heigl. She plays the spoiled rotten, bratty fourteen, (and a half), year old to perfection. You will hate her character as what starts as cute precociousness morphs into ambivalence to those around her and your want for this selfish girl to get hers in the end. Heigl's Nicole makes a complete buffoon out of her father, the one person who actually cares about her, (from what we see at the beginning concerning the relationship with her mother, I don't think I could say the same for them), and begins to make a mockery of all those around them with lie after lie. I'll admit to hoping that something tragic would befall her, maybe even the death of Depardieu—after she lies that he is dying of heart failure—to finally get her to understand the consequences of her actions, but alas, this is an innocuous family film, so it will all work out in the end somehow.

What you don't discover until the conclusion, however, is that the film isn't about Heigl and her evolution, but instead about Depardieu's Andre. The title doesn't refer to how Andre becomes Nicole's hero; it speaks to the fact that the movie is about him being that hero. The homage to his turn as Cyrano de Bergerac, (Steve Martin's Roxanne for you people unaware of the French original), is a nice touch, coaching his daughter on the way of love while also reeducating himself, opening his own eyes to what needs to be done in order to win back his girlfriend in Paris, (a character shrouded in secrecy until the end, revealed as a well-known English actress). My Father the Hero is about Andre growing up to become the father he thought he was. In his mind he had been there for his daughter the past five years, but soon discovers that he was far from being by her side, even skipping her thirteenth birthday. An error in judgment for which she found out about while bringing him soup under the impression he was home sick. What we assume was a selfishness learned from her mother is realized to be a stubbornness and guarded armor against the man who let her down when she needed him the most.

Andre is also coached along in the ways of a young girl's quest for her first love by the fantastic Faith Prince as Diana, a divorcée looking for her rich Italian future husband, but willing to settle for a Frenchman if she can. The cheesiness in her role works splendidly, infusing some nice comic relief playing off Depardieu with aplomb. Her inclusion is a welcome break from the headshaking lies and all-around brattiness Heigl brings, adding a good feminine influence to the film. She opens his eyes to Nicole's cry for help, how the girl is lying to win over the boy that she thinks she won't get unless appearing more adult than her barely high school age portrays. Also, Diana's "advances" and genuine friendship towards Andre allows for the acknowledgement that Isabel, in Paris without him, is the one he can't live without.

So, in the end, amongst what could be some pretty creepy moments of pedophilia, love is definitely in the air. Laughs are had all around, with confusion adding to the dynamic between pretty much everyone on the island versus Andre, and we get some nice slapstick moments to go along with more verbal subtlety. The music will get you grooving in that nostalgic, am-I-grooving-because-its funny-or-because-I-want-to way, and Depardieu will win you over as he attempts to protect the love of his life and be the father and hero she deserves. Whether, by the end, you decide she does in fact deserve that kind of man in her life—it's a tough question to answer, I know—you can't help but smile at the outcome of all the shenanigans that occurred. If you can laugh about a situation where people think a fifty-year-old is dating a fifteen-year-old—because it is honestly utilized for laughs—and just want a nice check-your-brain-at-the-door evening, My Father the Hero can get the job done.

Okay, so I first saw this movie when I was about 9. And I thought it was hilarious. But really, it is so wack. Very messed up but honestly, it's not horrible? The girl lies throughout the movie and it's about ...well, men? It's a good movie to watch when your scared to be alone and want to have something on to distract you or while your cooking something at night and feel scared.