Paternity (1981)
"You, a son!"
21 January 2012
Burt Reynolds loves kids. Well after the opening of the film, we get a cringe-like song to listen to while us watch how Reynolds' character connects with children and how much they like him. Even Peter Billingsley (of "A Christmas Story" fame) digs him. The tagline spells out the story "He wants you to have his baby!" New York's most eligible playboy bachelor has just turned 44 and wants to have a child to fill the void in his life, but doesn't want to marry. So he decides to go about trying to find a surrogate mother, where he comes across a waitress who needs the money and doesn't want to be emotionally involved. So the two strikes up a no strings attached agreement, but soon enough they begin to fall for each other. Quite a predictable, but charmingly fashionable and playful old-fashion romantic comedy with a breezy performance by Burt Reynolds and a heart filled turn from Beverly D'Angelo. Even the support cast featuring Norman Fell, Paul Dooley, Lauren Hutton, Elizabeth Ashley and Juanita Moore shape up rather well. Reynolds' clueless character has some rather amusing scenes and complications, especially those when he is searching for his surrogate mother and then of course when he bumps into the ex-girlfriends. Light-hearted entertainment with very good performances.

"I'm a lawyer. Not a pimp."
5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed