Film

Daddy Day Care

Name: Daddy Day Care
Genre: Comedy, Family
Released: 2003
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Anjelica Huston, Regina King

Buddy comedy
Light-hearted

A comedy about two unemployed men who open a daycare center. It's broad, warm, and unambiguously aimed at families—slapstick mishaps, life lessons, and the particular chaos of minding other people's children. Eddie Murphy carries it with charm. For anyone who finds parenting comedy appealing and doesn't need subtlety.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy broad, physical family slapstick where Eddie Murphy's rubber-faced chaos bounces off a warm, silly premise, the kind of goofy comedy that's happy to be simple and loud.

Skip it if you want sharp writing or a grounded take on unemployment and fatherhood, since the jokes lean on pratfalls, mugging and a fairly predictable sequence of mishaps.

What it asks of you: Little beyond an easy evening: at 92 minutes it moves briskly, stays bright throughout, and asks you to laugh at noise and mess rather than follow anything intricate.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

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Robin Williams in full comedic flight, playing a dad who goes to outrageous lengths to stay involved in his kids' lives. The premise is absurd but the heart is genuine, and the humor lands for adults and children differently.

But It's twenty-eight years old and some of the comedy beats feel broad in a way that hasn't aged perfectly. Also quite long for what it is.

3 Men and a Baby1987

The template for 'men learning to care for children' comedy. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, and Steve Guttenberg in a film that actually understands both the physical comedy and the genuine tenderness of childcare. It's funny and surprisingly touching.

But Dated in its gender politics and some of the jokes feel thin now. The pacing gets slack in the middle.

Kindergarten Cop1990

Arnold Schwarzenegger teaching a classroom of five-year-olds is the entire joke, and it works brilliantly. It commits fully to the premise—a hard-bodied action star genuinely wrestling with glitter, tantrums, and tiny logic.

But The crime subplot is clumsy and distracts from what actually works. Some of the humor depends on jokes about children's bodies that wouldn't make it past a modern script editor.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Daddy Day Care

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Clifford1994

Both films center on an adult male figure entirely unprepared for childcare, learning through pure necessity. But where Daddy Day Care is earnest, Clifford is almost nihilistic—a mirror showing what happens when caregiving becomes punishment.

Martin Short as a man tasked with teaching his uncontrollable godson basic behavior. It's chaos comedy—pure, unrelenting, sometimes exhausting. Short commits utterly to playing a man losing his mind one terrible day at a time.

But It's truly grating if you don't enjoy sustained, high-frequency comedy. Also somewhat meanspirited; it's not interested in the child learning or growing.

The Pacifier2005

Vin Diesel babysitting five kids in a house. You know exactly what you're getting and it delivers: physical comedy, a tough guy learning vulnerability, set pieces involving diapers and ballet recitals.

But It's shameless product placement wrapped in a thin plot. The jokes are mostly just 'large man, small child, incompatibility.'

Raising Arizona1987

The Coen Brothers' take on parenthood and desperation. Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as a couple who steal a baby. It's absurdist, visually inventive, and genuinely hilarious—comedy from character and situation, not just gags.

But It's considerably weirder and darker than Daddy Day Care. If you want warmth and broad slapstick, this goes somewhere unsettling instead.

Muppets from Space1999

Silly, kindhearted, and genuinely inventive. The Muppets doing science fiction comedy, with real affection for its characters. It works for families because it's made with real craft, not cynicism.

But It's aggressively goofy. If you need a tighter plot or less surreal humor, you'll be frustrated. Also, the Muppets themselves are not for everyone.

Big Daddy1999

Adam Sandler as a man learning to father an adopted daughter. It balances comedy with genuine emotion about parenthood, custody, and what it costs to care for someone. Sandler's sweetness works here.

But It's uneven—tonal shifts can feel jarring. Some of the humor hasn't aged well, and the film occasionally leans too hard on sentiment.

Beethoven1992

A family and a very large, very destructive dog. Charles Grodin's exasperation is perfect, and the chaos is genuinely funny. It understands that parenting and pet ownership both involve constant low-level disaster.

But The plot is thin and repetitive. The dog humor can feel one-note if you're not in the mood for pure silliness.

The Baby-Sitters Club2020

A children's show that respects its audience. Warm, funny, and genuinely well-made. About entrepreneurship, friendship, and kids taking care of younger kids. No one cynical is making this.

But It's genuinely a kids' show, which means the humor is softer and the emotional beats are broad. If you need edge, you won't find it.

A Master Builder2014

Both explore what an older or established man teaches a younger person, and what that costs. Daddy Day Care says it's joyful; this film asks if that's actually true.

A man building something (literal and metaphorical) while mentoring a younger protégé. Wallace Shawn adapts Ibsen. It's small, thoughtful, and about legacy and responsibility. Quiet where Daddy Day Care is loud, but the skeleton is the same.

But It's a very slow chamber piece. If you want comedy or movement, you won't get it. Also quite bleak about what happens when we're done trying.

Come and See1985

Both films center on the transformation and endangerment of children. One is comedy about teaching, the other is tragedy about destroying. Same stakes, opposite registers. Daddy Day Care is what we wish childhood could be; this is what it actually was for some.

A film about a boy becoming a man through war. Visually extraordinary and historically urgent. Aleksei Kravchenko's performance as a child witnessing atrocity is shattering. Essential cinema.

But It is an extreme film depicting extreme violence and suffering. Not an evening's entertainment. Watching it is morally serious business, not optional.