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. 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, Emmanuel Lewis, Dustin Diamond, and Danny Bonaduce.
The film was both a critical and commercial failure, grossing $23.7 million on a $17 million budget. This was the last film to star both Tony Dow and Adam Rich before their deaths in 2022 and 2023 respectively, as well as Fred Berry's last film to be released in his lifetime before his death less than two months after its release.
Plot
Dickie Roberts is a very young actor who shot to fame on a 1970s television sitcom called The Glimmer Gang with his spoonerism catchphrase "This is Nucking Futs!". His career subsequently halted in the years following the show's cancellation. Unable to find another acting gig due to his eccentric habits, a now older Dickie has been reduced to parking cars at a Morton's restaurant and appearing on Celebrity Boxing, where he suffers a humiliating first-round defeat to Emmanuel Lewis. In the public eye and to his girlfriend Cyndi, who leaves him on the roadside after a car problem, Dickie is a washed-up loser. After talking to his old friend Leif Garrett, Dickie is absolutely convinced a new Rob Reiner movie in the works titled Mr. Blake's Backyard will be his comeback. Even after his agent Sidney Wermack 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 as he's not an alcoholic, Dickie fakes being drunk and mistakenly wanders into a Lamaze class Brendan Fraser is taking with his wife. Fraser finds Dickie's entrance to the class hilarious and ridiculous and agrees to help him out by calling Reiner on his behalf. Reiner bluntly tells Dickie that the part is not within his abilities because it requires knowing how a regular person lives. Unfortunately, he didn't have a normal childhood (he grew up in the limelight, and his emotionally abusive mother Peggy abandoned him once he stopped earning money). Desperate to prove to Reiner he is right for the part, Dickie manages to sell his raunchy autobiography for $30,000. With the money, he pays a family to "adopt" him for a month to properly prepare the role. Once Dickie hires his "family", things get off to a rocky start, as George, the bread-winning father, insists that they need the money, despite the reservations of the other family members. Grace, the mother, comes to pity their new "son" and gradually provides him with surrogate guidance. Dickie begins to realize a lesson he read in the script for Mr. Blake's Backyard: "Sometimes all of the things you need are in your own backyard". Dickie learns much about himself and life in general and begins to act less immaturely and more as a third parent. He helps the son Sam secure a date and helps the daughter Sally join the pep squad. Cyndi returns to him, and he even earns the admiration of George, who turns out to be inept at fidelity. Sidney lands an audition for Dickie by donating one of his kidneys to Reiner after the director is savagely beaten by a psychotic driver whom Dickie provoked while unknowingly driving Reiner's vehicle. Dickie gets the part, proving that "In Hollywood, sometimes your dreams can come true...again". After learning that George ran off with Cyndi, Dickie gives up the part to take George's place with the family he has come to love as his own. An E! True Hollywood Story story on Dickie, aired not long after, reveals that Dickie has since started his own sitcom starring 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 very young stars sing "Child Stars on Your Television".
Cast
David Spade as Dickie Roberts, a former child star looking to make a comeback.
Nicholas Schwerin portrays a younger Dickie.
Mary McCormack as Grace Finney, a woman who reluctantly allows Dickie to live with her family during his audition.
Jon Lovitz as Sidney Wermack, Dickie's agent.
Craig Bierko as George Finney, Grace's husband who agrees to let Dickie stay with them without consulting her.
Alyssa Milano as Cyndi, Dickie's former girlfriend.
Rob Reiner as himself, he is working on a film Mr. Blake's Backyard that Dickie wants to get a part in.
Scott Terra as Sam Finney, the son of Grace and George.
Jenna Boyd as Sally Finney, the daughter of Grace and George and the sister of Sam.
Doris Roberts as Peggy Roberts, the mother of Dickie
Michael Buffer as himself, he was the ring announcer on Celebrity Boxing.
John Farley as a referee on Celebrity Boxing.
Fred Wolf as Dickie's Corner Man
Joey Diaz and Kevin Grevioux as Emmanuel's Entourage
Spencer Garrett and Hal Sparks as Publishers
Rachel Dratch as Rob Reiner's Secretary
Retta as Sad Eye Sadie
Ian Gomez as Strange Man
Edie McClurg as Mrs. Gertrude
Ambyr Childers as Barbie
Michael McDonald as Maitre D'
Kevin Farley as Valet
Sasha Mitchell as Angry Driver
Erin Murphy as Brittany
Tom Arnold as himself, he is encountered by Dickie at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Dick Van Patten as himself
Jann Carl as herself
Peter Dante as himself
Jonathan Loughran as himself
Florence Henderson as herself, she partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
Marion Ross as herself, she partakes in the "Child Stars on Your Television" song.
David Soul as himself (archive footage), he was said to be the father of Dickie through Peggy.
Brendan Fraser as himself (uncredited), Dickie encounters him at a Lamaze class with his wife.
Former child star cameos
Emmanuel Lewis as himself, he pairs off against Dickie in Celebrity Boxing.
"Child Stars on Your Television" song
Willie Aames
Fred Berry
Todd Bridges
Gary Coleman
Jeff Conaway
Tony Dow
Corey Feldman
Corey Haim
Christopher Knight
Barry Livingston
Mike Lookinland
Maureen McCormick
Eddie Mekka
Jeremy Miller
Erin Moran
Haywood Nelson
Jay North
Ron Palillo
Butch Patrick
Paul Petersen
Adam Rich
Rodney Allen Rippy
Ernest Lee Thomas
Charlene Tilton
Dickie's friends
Danny Bonaduce
Dustin Diamond
Corey Feldman
Leif Garrett
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. After receiving a script from Tommy "Winfidel" McNulty called Child Star; about a Child Star trying to win a girlfriend without writers, or a stuntman with the same first act used in this film, Fred decided to change the second and third act and steer the storyline into something less realistic where a family agrees to allow a stranger access to their children. Once the second and third act was written this movie, originally written as a dark comedy was made into the beautiful bomb that it is. 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. 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. The lawsuit was dismissed by a California court.
Reception
Box office
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star earned $6.7 million on its opening weekend. It went on to gross a worldwide total of $23.7 million against a production budget of $17 million.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 22% based on reviews from 121 critics. The site's consensus is: "A so-so David Spade comedy with a few laughs." On Metacritic the film has a score of 36% based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B" on scale of A to F. 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. 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", but added Lovitz was "pitch perfect" and the cameo appearances were enjoyable.
Joe Leydon of Variety wrote: "Offers a largely satisfying mix of broad slapstick, seriocomic sentimentality and mostly amusing satirical thrusts at easy targets."
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter gave it a mixed review: "Generally succeeds -- in hit-and-miss fashion -- at bridging the gap between unlikable jerk and misunderstood good guy, though it's still something of a leap to leading-man territory." Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a positive review: "This sleek and sunny comedy is an all-too-rare example of smart and inventive Hollywood filmmaking."
Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave it a positive review, praising the writing saying the film "rises above mediocrity with a steady stream of offbeat humor, as writers Spade and Fred Wolf stubbornly avoid the easy jokes throughout the film." He is also positive about the many cameos and says the film "is elevated from decent to good in the last five minutes, during a hilarious "We Are the World"-style medley among child actors and their parents."
References
External links
2003 films
2000s English-language films
2003 comedy films
American comedy films
Films about actors
Films directed by Sam Weisman
Films produced by Adam Sandler
Happy Madison Productions films
Paramount Pictures films
Films scored by Christophe Beck
Films with screenplays by David Spade
Films with screenplays by Fred Wolf
2000s American films