Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

HotToastyRag It's not necessary to watch Father of the Bride first, since the very title gives away the plot, but if you like classic movies, feel free to watch it before diving into the sequel, Father's Little Dividend.The entire cast returns, giving a repeat performance worthy of Edward Streeter's original characters, from the silliest obstacles to Spencer Tracy's narration. If ever there was a grumpy actor who could pull of hostility towards impending grandfather-hood, it was Mr. Baked Potato himself, Spencer Tracy. I'm not a fan of Spence, but he really is perfectly grumpy in these movies, just as the character warrants.In this one, Elizabeth Taylor's expecting a baby. Father isn't looking forward to the little critter taking over everyone's lives, and he tries to combat everyone else's excitement every step of the way. I love these movies; they're so hilariously true to life even now, even though there are dated "Honey I'm home" elements sprinkled along the way. Both Father movies are funny and delightful; pick them up for an old movie marathon over the weekend! DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, there's one scene in this movie that might be not your friend. Father and daughter sit on a bench swing and talk, and it might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

zetes In honor of Elizabeth Taylor. This is, of course, the sequel to Father of the Bride, which, in all honesty, I found to be a middling comedy at best (I actually prefer the Steve Martin version from the '90s, though I'll admit that one's nothing special, either). Father's Little Dividend is no better, and it's done no favors by the absolutely putrid public domain copies floating around (including the version on Netflix Instant, which is where I watched this; I've seen bits of it before on TCM and the copy they show is much better). Taylor is really a supporting character in this movie (and the first one). This is undoubtedly a Spencer Tracy vehicle through-and-through. He narrates the picture and is on screen about 90% of the time. And he's charming, of course. As are Taylor and Joan Bennett. But few of the jokes work. The drama actually works a little better. The best scene in the movie is the one where Tracy speaks to Taylor after she decides to leave her husband over a petty argument. It could have been played for laughs, but it's used as a nice father/daughter moment. The part at the end where Tracy loses his grandson is downright scary when watching it today. He left him alone for 30 minutes in a park! It's played for comedy, but today he'd rightly be arrested!

MartinHafer I absolutely loved FATHER OF THE BRIDE. This was my favorite Spencer Tracy film in that it gives him a chance to play an "everyman" and you really grow to care about him and his growing family. So, I was thrilled that MGM made this sequel (and I ordinarily hate sequels). Now that his lovely daughter, Liz Taylor, was married off in the last film, this movie tackles the next big life-changing event in Tracy's life--the imminent birth of his grandchild. All the worries and changes are dealt with so deftly that you soon forget that nothing earth-shattering or amazing happens in the film--it's just a wonderfully written, directed and acted slice of life film that is enhanced by its realism and gentle humor.

tedg This is a horrid little thing. It is ugly, like the baby that was incomprehensibly chosen to stand for cute.Here are the problems.First, it is uncinematic. It isn't a movie at all, just a bunch of skits strung together under the umbrella of a father who is grumpy and then becomes fondly engaged.It has Spencer Tracy, a bad actor in any context, here recalling his Jekyll and Hyde faces. It has Liz trying her best to find a person in the cartoonish script. And the good witch of Oz as the shrewish mother in law?And it has one of the clumsiest plot fulcrums I know. The granddad takes the baby for a walk, gets engaged in a soccer game and forgets the baby, who is gone on his return. We then see a frantic comic search, ending in the police office. It isn't funny. None of this is, and watching it will damage your cinematic psyche. Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.