Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Sam Weisman and starring David Spade (who also co-wrote the film with Fred Wolf), Mary McCormack, Jon Lovitz, Craig Bierko, Alyssa Milano, and Rob Reiner.[1] Spade portrays a child actor who fell into obscurity as an adult and who attempts to revive his career by getting a part in Rob Reiner's next film. In addition, the movie shows Dickie interacting with numerous former child stars, played by over two dozen actual former stars lampooning their careers, such as Leif Garrett, Barry Williams, Corey Feldman, Emannuel Lewis, Dustin Diamond, and Danny Bonaduce.

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySam Weisman
Produced byAdam Sandler
Jack Giarraputo
Written byDavid Spade
Fred Wolf
StarringDavid Spade
Mary McCormack
Jon Lovitz
Craig Bierko
Alyssa Milano
Rob Reiner
Music byChristophe Beck
Waddy Wachtel
CinematographyThomas E. Ackerman
Edited byRoger Bondelli
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • September 5, 2003 (2003-09-05)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$17 million
Box office$23.8 million

Plot

Dickie Roberts (Nicholas Schwerin) is a child star who shot to fame on a TV sitcom called The Glimmer Gang with his spoonerism catchphrase "This is Nucking Futs!". His career subsequently halted after his 6th birthday.

Since his heyday years later, Dickie (David Spade) has been reduced to parking cars at a Morton's restaurant and appearing on Celebrity Boxing, where he is matched with Emmanuel Lewis. In the public eye and to his girlfriend Cyndi (Alyssa Milano) who apparently leaves him during a roadside incident, Dickie is washed up.

After talking to his old friend Leif Garrett, Dickie is absolutely convinced that a new Rob Reiner movie in the works titled Mr. Blake's Backyard will be his comeback vehicle. Even after his agent Sidney Wermack (Jon Lovitz) fails to land him an audition, Dickie persists. While on duty at Morton's, he joyrides in a customer's vehicle and drops into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where he pesters Tom Arnold to connect him with Reiner. After he is kicked out because he's not an alcoholic, Dickie fakes being drunk and enters a Lamaze class which Brendan Fraser is taking with his wife. He finds Dickie's entrance to the class hilarious and ridiculous, and he agrees to help him out and calls Reiner for Dickie.

Reiner bluntly tells Dickie that the part is not within his abilities because it requires knowing how a regular person lives. Unfortunately, Dickie never had a real childhood; he grew up in the limelight, and then his mother Peggy (Doris Roberts) abandoned him when his show was cancelled. Desperate to prove to Reiner that he is right for the part, Dickie sells his raunchy autobiography to raise $30,000. With the money, he pays a family to "adopt" him for a month, as he believes he will "watch and learn".

Once Dickie hires his "family", things get off to a rocky start, as George (Craig Bierko), the bread-winning father, insists that they need the money, despite the rightful reservations of the other family members. Grace (Mary McCormack), the mother, comes to pity and gradually provides him with surrogate guidance, realizing the lesson from Mr. Blake's Backyard itself: sometimes all of the things you need are in your own backyard. Dickie learns much about himself and life in general, and he begins to act as a third parent. He helps the family's son Sam (Scott Terra) secure a date and helps the daughter Sally (Jenna Boyd) join the pep squad. Cyndi returns to him and is admired by George, who turns out to be inept on the subject of fidelity.

Sidney lands an audition for Dickie by donating a kidney to Reiner after Reiner is savagely beaten by a psychotic street person (Sasha Mitchell) whom Dickie provoked while unknowingly driving Reiner's vehicle. Dickie is awarded the part, proving that "In Hollywood, Sometimes Your Dreams Can Come True...Again". After George and Cyndi abandon the household together, Dickie gives up the part to be with the family he has come to love.

An E! True Hollywood Story report on Dickie, who now turns his real story into a new sitcom that uses all of his old friends, as well as his new family (including Grace, whom he has married).

The closing credits are a send-up on Relief albums listed as "To help former child stars" and includes many references to old television sitcoms where Dickie, Leif, their mutual friends, Florence Henderson, Marion Ross, and other former child stars sing "Child Stars on Your Television".

Cast

Former child star cameos
  • Willie Aames as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Fred Berry as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Danny Bonaduce as himself, he appears as a friend of Dickie.
  • Todd Bridges as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Gary Coleman as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Jeff Conaway as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Dustin Diamond as himself, he appears as a friend of Dickie.
  • Tony Dow as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Corey Feldman as himself, he appears as a friend of Dickie.
  • Leif Garrett as himself, he appears as a friend of Dickie.
  • Corey Haim as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song where he sings alongside Corey Feldman.
  • Christopher Knight as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Emmanuel Lewis as himself, he pairs off against Dickie in Celebrity Boxing.
  • Barry Livingston as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Mike Lookinland as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Maureen McCormick as herself, she partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Eddie Mekka as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Jeremy Miller as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Erin Moran as herself, she partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Haywood Nelson as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Jay North as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Ron Palillo as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Butch Patrick as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Paul Petersen as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" songs.
  • Adam Rich as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Rodney Allen Rippy as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Ernest Lee Thomas as himself, he partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Charlene Tilton as herself, she partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
  • Barry Williams as himself, he appears as a friend of Dickie who doubts that Brendan Fraser would hook him up with Rob Reiner.

Production

Fred Wolf and David Spade originally wrote a skit in the '90s for Saturday Night Live about a child star rampage, spoofing The Silence of the Lambs, for when Macaulay Culkin was hosting, but it was cut. The idea was later pitched to The WB, but they turned it down. It was eventually totally rewritten and turned into this movie, originally written as a dark comedy with more references to drug use by child stars.

Sally's "Brick wall, waterfall" routine was something Jenna Boyd was doing on the set between takes. The filmmakers liked it and worked it into the script – twice.

The crew built an actual treehouse in the back yard of the house used for the exterior scenes of the Finney's home. The real homeowners liked it so much, they requested that the producers to leave it up after filming.

Lawsuit

Paramount Pictures was sued for trademark infringement and dilution after this film was released. Paramount had not requested permission from Wham-O for using the Slip 'n Slide in this movie.[2] The lawsuit claimed that the movie, which portrayed unsafe use of a Slip 'n Slide, might encourage others to use it in an unsafe manner.[3] The lawsuit was dismissed by a California court.[4]

Reception

Dickie Roberts earned more than $22 million against an estimated budget of $17 million.[5]

Critical reception was mostly negative. Rotten Tomatoes awards the film a 23% "rotten" rating with a consensus of "A so-so David Spade comedy with a few laughs". While critics generally agreed that the premise had potential and appreciated the involvement of actual former child stars, reactions to Spade's humor were mixed, and the attempts to make the film genuinely uplifting and sentimental in its second half were seen as contrived and unnecessary.[6] Roger Ebert gave the movie two-out-of-four stars, noting "'Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star' has a premise that would be catnip for Steve Martin or Jim Carrey, but David Spade (who, to be fair, came up with the premise) casts a pall of smarmy sincerity over the material."[7] However, some critics still noted the film as an improvement over previous David Spade features, such as Joe Dirt.

References
  1. "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  2. Finn, Ed (10 September 2003). "Can Wham-O Sue Over Dickie Roberts?". Slate.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
  3. Gentile, Gary (September 9, 2003). "Slip 'N Slide Use In Film All Wet?". CBSNews.com. CBS. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
  4. Umbright, Emily (6 October 2006). "St. Louis-based appliance maker Emerson sues NBC". St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian. Archived from the original on 24 January 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
  5. "Business Details for Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star". IMDb.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02.
  6. "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2010-11-18.
  7. Ebert, Roger. "Dickie Roberts Archived 2013-01-09 at the Wayback Machine." 05 September 2003; accessed 17 April 2012.
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