I like Clive Owen and his acting style. I liked the premise this movie starts out with. So much for what got me to watch this movie.
While the idea of widowed dad raising son(s) is nothing new - The Rifleman TV show made this situation look almost desirable - this plot line attempted to go where no man has gone before. Try raising a super high energy kid while being the star sports reporter for a paper in a country where an assignment will keep you separated for weeks at a time and in the middle of all this a child from a first marriage gets dumped on you at the worst possible time and you get the idea.
Dad has support from his well to do in-laws and an attractive good hearted teacher who happens to be single (never saw that coming), but have needs and issues of their own. So when called upon to help at a critical moment, it is not given.
Dad clearly has guilt over the situation he created with his first marriage and so finds himself constantly apologizing for other peoples miscreant behavior. He cannot apologize enough, even when his children and in-laws are crossing the line continually with recalcitrant actions and words.
The problem is, you don't ever really believe Dad is sorry for what he did to make this situation he finds himself in, and you don't get the sense he deserves what his coming to him, so the continual apologies not only ring hollow but are frustrating to listen to.
Adult male figures seem to make attractive targets for what ails society. Children are always victims, mothers in law are only out for the well being of children, female teachers are underappreciated and taken advantage of. Dad is good at apologizing and promising to never let that happen again.
There are other examples to make my point but I don't want to give away key elements of the movie.
There are several good and delightful scenes of interaction between Dad and son. Unfortunately these are lost against the larger back drop of male incompetence on display and cannot make up for the larger picture being presented here.
While the idea of widowed dad raising son(s) is nothing new - The Rifleman TV show made this situation look almost desirable - this plot line attempted to go where no man has gone before. Try raising a super high energy kid while being the star sports reporter for a paper in a country where an assignment will keep you separated for weeks at a time and in the middle of all this a child from a first marriage gets dumped on you at the worst possible time and you get the idea.
Dad has support from his well to do in-laws and an attractive good hearted teacher who happens to be single (never saw that coming), but have needs and issues of their own. So when called upon to help at a critical moment, it is not given.
Dad clearly has guilt over the situation he created with his first marriage and so finds himself constantly apologizing for other peoples miscreant behavior. He cannot apologize enough, even when his children and in-laws are crossing the line continually with recalcitrant actions and words.
The problem is, you don't ever really believe Dad is sorry for what he did to make this situation he finds himself in, and you don't get the sense he deserves what his coming to him, so the continual apologies not only ring hollow but are frustrating to listen to.
Adult male figures seem to make attractive targets for what ails society. Children are always victims, mothers in law are only out for the well being of children, female teachers are underappreciated and taken advantage of. Dad is good at apologizing and promising to never let that happen again.
There are other examples to make my point but I don't want to give away key elements of the movie.
There are several good and delightful scenes of interaction between Dad and son. Unfortunately these are lost against the larger back drop of male incompetence on display and cannot make up for the larger picture being presented here.