The Pacifier Will Keep Kids Happy
I know it’s a little late, but today I am reviewing the Pacifier…starring Vin Diesel. I never caught this one in theaters, but I watched the DVD. On a side note, I still think a good combo for an action movie would be Vin Diesel and Jim Caviezel. Certainly you could really hype it until it almost was a crime not to see it in theaters. “Diesel and Caviezel together for the first time…now action movies have a new duo to deal with.
Anyhow, in “The Pacifier” Diesel plays Shane Wolf a Navy Seal who must protect the Plummer family whose father was killed while certain enemies of the US tried to get information about a program known as “Ghost.” Naturally, the wife of the man killed goes to Switzerland escorted by Captain Bill Fawcett played by Chris Potter to pick up something that might be related to “Ghost”. Thus Wolf is recruited to play as a kind of babysitter for the children who are “out of control.” Well he is more like a bodyguard that is beaten into the role of babysitter.
The movie is funny at the stuff it hints at in the trailers. The oldest daughter, Zoe played by Brittany Snow has teenage guys visiting her that are no good for her and she is flunking Driver’s education. The oldest boy Seth played by Max Thierot is skipping classes and is near suspension but he has other interests. And the middle girl is a firefly girl (similar to the girl scouts) who is in a turf war with some cub scouts/boy scouts. While the two youngest kids are well, just being kids.
Pacifier is predictable in places. The fish out of water of Wolfe is to be expected. The one good thing is that Wolfe never loses control, or “gives up.” And predictably the kids and Wolfe finally come to an understanding and care for one another. Still, it’s great to see the details where Wolfe “militarizes” certain aspects of domestic life to try to control the chaos of children like how he “equips” bottles, diapers, and other supplies.
The comedic action sequences are also fun to watch, and if you add in a pet duck, well, you can rarely go wrong there. It’s a fun family movie and it is good to see Brad Garrett a role outside of his well-known “Everybody Loves Raymond” persona. Another interesting addition is principal Fletcher played by Gilmore Girl’s Lauren Graham. All in all, a good if not predictable movie that will certainly be a staple on TBS in years to come along with that movie about locking your parents in the basement, and the other one about hiring Christopher Lloyd to play a faux camp counselor.
Despite my misgivings about seeing this movie in the theater, it would have been worth seeing as a matinee and I am glad that I rented the DVD.
Good times and enjoy.
