Like Father (2018)

Directed by: Lauren Miller Rogen | 98 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Kristen Bell, Danielle Davenport, Kimiko Glenn, Wynter Kullman, Kelsey Grammer, Brett Gelman, Jon Foster, Elisabeth Ness, Brian McCarthy, Keilly McQuail, Jen Zaborowski, Brittany Ross, Marco Naggar, Paul W. Downs

Actress and screenwriter Lauren Miller Rogen (known for ‘Super Bad’ and ‘For a Good Time, Call…’) makes her feature film directing debut with ‘Like Father’. Comedy stars Kristen Bell (Netflix series “The Good Place”) and Kelsey Grammer (of “Frasier” fame) play the lead roles. Hubby Seth Rogen (‘The Disaster Artist’) also has a modest supporting role. ‘Like Father’ is not a high-quality production, but it can’t be because of the comedic talent.

Rachel (Bell) is a workaholic and, much to her fiancé’s dismay, always working. When Rachel runs up the hallway to the altar late on their wedding day, because she had a few more phone calls to make, he’s had enough. He cancels the wedding. Rachel’s estranged father Harry (Grammer) sneaks among the guests and tries to run away. But then their eyes meet and he sees his daughter’s broken heart. Harry decides to stay and together they start drinking.

The next morning they wake up in a beautiful room with a sea view. Gradually, Rachel begins to realize that she has taken her father on the luxury cruise, which should have been her honeymoon. Meanwhile in the middle of the ocean and no possibility to get separate rooms, the two are stuck together. With the help of sufficient alcohol and some friendly cruise mates, father and daughter get to know each other better and more deeply.

The huge ship, which seems to have everything on board (swimming pool with slides, restaurants, karaoke bar, a game show, nightlife clubs, et cetera) is a perfect setting for comedic scenes. But Miller Rogen doesn’t know how to capitalize on these opportunities. As a result, ‘Like Father’ is more of an accumulation of predictable and clichéd jokes. Luckily, Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer manage to give the father-daughter moments a nice awkward twist. That keeps the film somewhat interesting. These moments are unfortunately not enough, so ‘Like Father’ is occasionally funny but not fun enough at all.