Review: Old Dogs

Just in time for the holidays, John Travolta and Robin Williams team up for the family comedy Old Dogs. The premise of the story is that two longtime friends and business partners find their lives turned upside down when strange circumstances lead to them being placed in the care of 7-year-old twins.

With the encouragement of buddy Charlie (John Travolta), Dan (Robin Williams) gets wild during a night in South Beach which apparently results in more than a 24-hour marriage, hangover and annulment. When Mommy aka South Beach Vicki (Kelly Preston) is ordered by the court to serve two weeks in jail after chaining herself to a tree in protest, Dan offers to take care of the kids. Screwball comedy ensues, Japanese businessmen are both impressed and offended by the antics of the buddy team along with their junior executive, played by Seth Green.

This film might at first glance appear to be an updated version of Three Men and A Baby, but it's nowhere near the pedigree of that film. The mixed humor that does not play well. Though the humor could be described as being juvenile, frankly it is an insult to my 10-year-old niece -- she called it "corny."

Mixed in was adult humor playing off Dan and Charlie's 30-year-old friendship and their use of the words "partner" and "two dads" to evoke double-entendres that are outdated. This movie relies a lot on sight gags, pratfalls and tasteless humor including during a bereavement scene that just doesn't work. John Travolta's performance as an over-the-hill playboy who's "hip" comes across flat and forced. The only decent performance is Robin Williams in the more serious moments, and sadly it is not enough to save this film.

If you want to see better made movies featuring a father thrust suddenly into child-rearing, my niece recommends Daddy Day Care -- but not Daddy Day Camp -- over this movie, while I would suggest Mr. Mom.