Daddy Day Camp

Daddy Day Camp (also known as Daddy Day Care 2) is a 2007 American comedy film starring Cuba Gooding Jr., and directed by Fred Savage in his film directorial debut. It is the sequel to 2003's Daddy Day Care; however, all the lead characters were recast. The film was produced by Revolution Studios and released by TriStar Pictures, unlike its predecessor, which was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film was released in the United States on August 8, 2007.

The film grossed $18.2 million against a $6 million budget, but was panned by film critics. It has a 1% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is considered to be one of the worst sequels ever produced.

Plot
Four years after the events of Daddy Day Care, Charlie and Phil take their kids to Camp Driftwood, a camp they attended as kids. But once there, they discover that Camp Driftwood is no longer the kindhearted camp site of their time. To save the run-down site, Charlie and Phil buy a partnership from the older man that ran it when they were children, after the other partner runs off on vacation. They turn it into Daddy Day Camp. They run into misadventures along the way when the owner, Lance Warner, in the rival camp Canola tries to tear it down. The first day of camp turns out to be a disaster involving a skunk and a bathroom explosion. As a result many of the parents pull their kids from the camp, which leaves them left with only 7 campers instead of the original 35 and in need of help to improve their financial situation.

The next day, the camp is raided by Camp Canola, which has been joined by the 28 campers who left Camp Driftwood. Charlie calls his military father, Colonel Buck Hinton, for help to whip the kids into shape, since they have problems following orders. After getting revenge on Lance for getting his campers to steal the Camp Driftwood flag, he then challenges Camp Driftwood to the Camp Olympian but the kids have to train for it. The kids love Buck because of his military ways and support, However, Charlie disapproves as he recounts that he doesn't want the kids to become like Buck because Charlie believes that Buck only cares about toughness and that he, Charlie, was a disappointment to him. He starts to regret his decision to call Buck when his son runs off to the woods, after some campers tease him about his father's over-protectiveness, because his grandpa Buck told him that he became 'tough' when he ran off to the woods. They find him but when Charlie complains to Phil about Buck, Buck overhears their conversation and leaves camp.

On the day of the Olympian, the others find out that Buck has left. Seeing the kids discouraged, Charlie goes to find Buck and bring him back. He finds Buck and resolves all his problems with his dad. When they return the kids report that they found out that the rival camp has cheated in the Olympiad, and have been doing so for several past years; this is especially true when it's revealed that Charlie lost to Lance when they were kids. Charlie lets Ben do the climbing course, since Ben knows how to climb, but he falls. However, Becca tells everyone that Lance greased the wall, making everyone realize that Lance cheated in every game in the Olympian. While climbing a wall, Ben uses the tree next to it with enough time left to hit the bell giving Camp Driftwood the win.

After all the times his Father refused to be his dad, Lance's son Bobby, turns against his dad and angrily kicks him, making Lance stumble backwards into the wall's supports, collapsing it over all of the trophies Camp Canola ever received, smashing them and prompting Lance to burst out crying. Camp Driftwood wins, and the parents who signed their kids to be in Camp Canola originally, including those who pulled their kids from Driftwood, then ask Charlie for their kids to be in Camp Driftwood, which saves it from foreclosure.

Cast

 * Cuba Gooding Jr. as Charlie Hinton, the co-owner of Daddy Day Care and teacher. He was played by Eddie Murphy in the original film.
 * Lochlyn Munro as Lance Warner, Charlie's childhood enemy, and the owner of the rival camp Canola.
 * Richard Gant as Col. Buck Hinton, Charlie's estranged father. He is a military officer who takes army tasks very seriously. However, he displays a soft spot for his grandson, Ben, as well as the other campers.
 * Paul Rae as Phil Ryerson, co-owner of Daddy Day Care, Charlie's best friend and teacher. He was played by Jeff Garlin in the original film.
 * Tamala Jones as Kim Hinton, Charlie's wife. She was played by Regina King in the original film.
 * Josh McLerran as Dale, an oafish young counsellor at Camp Driftwood and the driver for the camp's bus. He is a replacement for the character "Marvin", who was played by Steve Zahn in the original film.
 * Spencir Bridges as Ben Hinton, Charlie's son. He was played by Khamani Griffin in the original film.
 * Brian Doyle-Murray as "Uncle" Morty, former owner of Camp Driftwood.
 * Dallin Boyce as Max Ryerson, Phil's son. He was played by Max Burkholder in the original film.
 * Telise Galanis as Juliette, one of the campers whom Robert likes. She is the only child in the camp to have been played by the original actor on Daddy Day Care, the first film.
 * Molly Jepson as Becca, a smart girl and a student at Daddy Day Care. She was played by Hailey Noelle Johnson in the original film. She, other than Ben and Max, is the only child in the camp who appeared in the first film.
 * Sean Patrick Flaherty as Robert "Bobby" Jefferson Warner, Lance's son, whom he denies having since he hates kids.
 * Taggart Hurtubise as Carl, the more independent 6-year-old brother of Robert.
 * Tad D'Agostino as Robert, a shy, nerdy and socially awkward boy who falls for Juliette.
 * Tyger Rawlings as Billy, a bully.
 * Talon G. Ackerman as Jack, a nerdy boy (and presumably, the youngest of all the campers). He frequently gets sick and vomits.

Production
In August 2003, soon after the release of Daddy Day Care, Murphy was lured into making a sequel movie, although he hadn't signed up for the film.

From August 23–October 4, 2006, Daddy Day Camp was set and filmed in Park City, and Provo, Utah.

Box office
On opening day Daddy Day Camp grossed $773,706, and grossed $3,402,678 on opening weekend on over 2,000 screens, coming in 9th place. It went on to gross $18.2 million worldwide.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 1% based on 79 reviews, with an average rating of 2.31/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A mirthless, fairly desperate family film, Daddy Day Camp relies too heavily on bodily functions for comedic effect, resulting in plenty of cheap gags, but no laughs." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 13 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Nathan Rabin from The A.V. Club gave the film a rare "F" grade.

Home media
Daddy Day Camp was released on DVD in Region 1 in the United States on January 29, 2008, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2008, it was distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.