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Down and Derby

compiled by Jeffrey Overstreet
from Film Forum, 04/21/05

Billed as a "family comedy" about deadbeat dads who become competitive in a local derby and learn the true meaning of fatherhood and parenthood, Down and Derby is, according to critics, a waste of time that isn't very funny and has very little to say about anything.

Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) describes it as "yet another take on the timeworn comedic tradition of over-the-top competition and dysfunctional families. It's not meant to be taken seriously. It's just supposed to be a good, clean, family diversion." Unfortunately, he notes, the film falls short due to "completely unnecessary sexual innuendo it includes. An even bigger concern … is how relentlessly dads are caricatured as immature, selfish and out-of-control. I wish the Down and Derby men had realized how important their boys and wives really are sooner than they did. They behave badly throughout and suffer virtually no consequences."

Most mainstream critics say it's the audience that loses this derby.

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