MovieChat Forums > Life with Father (1947) Discussion > Why Do I Hate This So Much???

Why Do I Hate This So Much???

posted 13 years ago by poetcomic1
27 replies | jump to latest

I love all the classic films that everyone else does. I love a great period piece I could watch William Powell in a half dozen other great roles over and over BUT I HATE this movie, I think Mr. Day senior is one of the most obnoxious and two- dimensional characters in all cinema. The plot elements are paper thin, Elizabeth Taylor simpers and poses as does Irene Dunn who plays an idiot and not much more. I can't even imagine why the stage play was such a hit. Nostalgia? Just compare this to I Remember Mama in which the characters grow, adjust change and enrich one another. That just doesn't happen in this movie.

[–] misspaddylee 13 years ago

It seems to me that you want the movie to be something that it isn't. Clarence Day Jr.'s articles about "Father" are humorously told anecdotes about an eccentric seen through the eyes of a loving and bemused son.

Why compare "Life With Father" to "I Remember Mama"? The first is played for laughs and the second is played for heart, and I think they both succeed.

"Tell me about the squares, Buzzie."

[–] poetcomic1 13 years ago

I can't think of one incident or line in the whole movie that actually made me laugh. I did not LIKE the father at all and the role of the mother (which Irene Dunn hated herself) was of a rich embarrassingly stupid woman. I know its a different movie but look at 'Meet Me in St. Louis" - the put upon, gruff but so tender hearted father and the lovely Mary Astor as the mother. I can't argue with taste! If you like it you like it - sorry!

[–] gribfritz2 12 years ago

It always amuses me that people want likeable characters in films. No one told you you need to "like" him in any way, shape, or form. Just watch him.

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

It is a comedy premised on the eccentric, gruff but lovable father. If one doesn't like the central character in this kind of nostalgic comedy it has failed. Hannibal Lecter one doesn't have to 'like' on any level, but then he is not a character in a comedy.

[–] northsouth1 8 years ago

He's not? That explains a lot...

[–] joe_538 11 years ago

Among other things, the way he says "bap-tised" makes me laugh. He also conceded to Vinnie a couple of times during the movie so they wouldn't have to fight.

"She was sitting on... father's trousers!"

[–] lroy77 11 years ago

There's at least a twenty year difference between the movies. Could you see Mr Day with four daughters?

[–] marktayloruk (2467) 2 years ago

And retaining.his sanity?

[–] WhoDo-YouDo 12 years ago

That is very nice (after someone bursts our bubble of enjoyment for this film) for someone nice (to step forth to patch it up again).

Irene is padded for "Mama" but not for "Father" so her trim figure speaks for itself.

Plus Irene and William have Charles, John, Whitney and Harlan to rear, and they're doing a fine job of with most of them at least, or at least until Cousins ZaSu and Lizzie arrive in town.

[–] tmaj48 13 years ago

I definitely agree. Despite all the effort to film this story through nostalgia-colored lenses, Clarence Day, Sr. still comes off as a tyrannical boor. From the
moment he starts banging his foot on the floor at the breakfast table to alternately praise and complain to the cook, he has me loathing him. His roaring tantrums towards everyone don't come off as charmingly quirky, just tiresome,
like some turn-of-the-century Donald Trump. And I generally like William Powell, but I can't watch him in this. And Irene Dunne's ditzy role is an insult.

I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!

Hewwo.

[–] suednim1960 13 years ago

I can't find a single negative point raised in this discussion that I don't agree with. However, for some reason I am completely in love with this film, and with all of the characters. I think it must be nothing more than the indescribable appeal of William Powell himself, and to a slightly lesser degree Irene Dunne. This is one of those movies (like Meet Me in St. Louis) that I can watch over and over and never tire of.

[–] IloveMuggy 13 years ago

The roles of Father and Vinnie would have been a disaster in lesser hands--but William Powell and Irene Dunn pull them off beautifully, imo. I don't think Vinnie was stupid--she was actually quite adept at getting what she wanted and running the household her way while all the while making Father believe *he* was the one in charge. And the scene when he tells her that "We've been married for twenty years and I've loved you every minute of it" is poignant and to me, the heart of the whole film. In its essence, this is a love story beautifully acted.

[–] JenniferLynne73 13 years ago

I am curious as to why, since you hate the movie so much, you would choose to continue watching it. Furthermore, if you don't like it, why would you waste the time to come to this forum and complain about it? There are plenty of movies that I don't care about, so I don't watch them. No one cares. If you don't like it, fine. But if you have nothing nice to say then don't say anything.

P.S. William Powell was brilliant in the role and won the New York Film Critics award for it, which he most definately deserved. I laughed and laughed throughout the movie. If you didn't catch the humor behind Mr. Day's gruffness or Mrs. Day's mind then there is no point in explaining it to you. It was set in the 1880's and you can't judge an 1880's man/woman by 2011 standards. Times, and people, were different then. And you have to have the imagination to look at things from eyes of someone who lived in the later part of the 19th century to enjoy this movie fully. Which is something you obviously cannot do.

"All you need to start an Asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people"-(My Man Godfrey)

[–] poetcomic1 12 years ago

I was just curious if I was alone in not liking it. I was SURPRISED that I didn't like it. Others agree with me. We like the kind of movie it is, we love the actors, we love nostalgia. But not this. Don't you think that is interesting? It is not a question of personal animus. Though it does seem to be for you.

[–] sphinctersayhuh 13 years ago

I agree...I love William Powell, but for some reason had never seen this.
We couldn't make it through....too insipid, and throw in the over-the-top acting of the young cast, it was too painful too watch.

[–] emerald420 13 years ago

The father is boorish, the mother is a spoiled bubblehead, Elizabeth Taylor's character is insipid and Clarence Day Jr. is a pantywaist. For me, the real pleasure in the movie is seeing what living in New York in the 1880's was like. (If you had money, that is) It must have been nice to have your very own policeman parked outside your front door. And, Dinner at Delmonico's!! Sign me up for that.

[–] hodie 12 years ago

I just saw it for the first time and I loved William Powell's depiction of Clarence.

Irene Dunne was good too. I plan to see it again.

Actually, I didn't warm to I Remember Mama. I just found it dull.

"Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"

[–] snsurone 12 years ago

I love this movie (and others like MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS) because they are just so BEAUTIFUL to look at.
The art direction, sets, and costumes were perfect.
Classic period pieces, be they dramas, musicals, or comedies, are my favorite genre.

BTW, IMHO, Clarence, Sr. and Vinnie appear as more caricatures than fleshed-out characters.
That was probably the decision of director Michael Curtiz.

[–] Man_Who_Lived_Twice 12 years ago

Big fan of Curtiz and Powell but I also hated this movie. It happens. My problem is that it's a bunch of episodic crap. After about 20 minutes I was thinking - where are we going with this? After 30 minutes I realized we were going nowhere with this. If it had been exciting, episodic crap I wouldn't have minded as much.

[–] bmw-37 11 years ago

I'm afraid I too am in the Doesn't Work For Me camp. Sad because I love Powell and I'm a vintage movie fan in general, but this just made me squirm a lot.

It certainly didn't help that the sound was muffled and the picture was extremely dark, making the dialogue hard to make out at times and many scenes difficult to see. Apparently I shouldn't have gone for that priced-too-low-to-be-missed box set. :-) I just hope that all the other flicks in the box aren't unwatchable too.

-bmw

[–] poetcomic1 11 years ago

I tried a newer DVD from the library of this movie and it was not much better - crummy color and sound.

[–] jayrussell1993 11 years ago

Then don't watch it.

[–] SassyLeo 10 years ago

I DVR'd this one yesterday & eagerly sat down to watch it----and erased it shortly after Liz Taylor shows up. I couldn't stand the father & thought his performance ruined the film. I'll probably kick myself later but couldn't tolerate him any longer. Obnoxious is a kind label for him! OH GAD!