Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star

Review by Clint Morris

Corey Feldman, Emmanuelle Lewis, Barry Williams, Leif Garrett, Todd Bridges, Gary Coleman, and Maureen McCormick….what do these people have in common?

They're all former child stars, and for better or worse will never lose the heady scent that came from starring in their respective shows or features.

David Spade had the nerve to ask them to make fun of themselves in his new comedy Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, and boy, does it pay off.

The scene where a bunch of has-been's playing poker around a table is outstanding. You've got former teen heartthrob Leif Garrett shuffling the cards, 'Screech' Dustin Diamond cashing in, Corey Feldman doubling down and Danny Bonaduce ['The Partridge Family'] sitting back and soaking up the fun.

Why didn't someone do this earlier?

A spoof of those "True Hollywood Stories" TV Specials that focus on a has-been actor and their rise to fame and down again, Roberts has Spade playing a characteristically anal former TV Child star who's finding it hard to get anyone to hire him all these years later.

Along comes utterance that director Rob Reiner is casting a new major dramatic motion picture, and Dickie decides he wants an audition. He gets one, only to be told "he isn't normal" enough to play the part.

Not taking no for an answer, he puts an ad in the paper advertising for a normal family to take him in for a spell so he can get a taste of what 'living normal' is like. And of course, after a couple of weeks starts to transform into a real human being.

Spade is usually a bit of a mixed bag. His sense of humour is very dry, and he's not exactly a wet-your-pants facet. On the other hand, he hasn't exactly had a good vehicle to showcase that original blend of humour either. Until now.

With Dickie Roberts, Spade's found the perfect vehicle to be completely and utterly silly, and it works. It's no more and no less than just a good no-brainer comedy, but it's got the extra added novelty of catching all these former stars taking the mickey out of themselves and that's a treat and then some. Especially because everyone - including Spade in the lead - seem to be having such a good time.

At times the movie does start to get a little sickly sweet, not unlike the TV sitcom the lead character is famed for, but that's a slight inequality made up for by an all-star sing-a-long over the end credits provided by a room full of yesteryear's mega stars. Does it get any wackier?

3.5 out of 5

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
Australian release: Thursday February 19th
Cast: David Spade, Alyssa Milano, Doris Roberts, Nicholas Schwerin, Leif Garrett, Dick Van Patten, Scott Terra, Mary McCormack.
Director: Sam Weisman.
Website: Click here.