'Imagine That' review

The lesson: Kids are never too young to balance a stock portfolio

By Matt Pais

Posted June 11, 2009

Metromix

Stock whiz Evan (Eddie Murphy) is losing clients to an offensive Native American newcomer (Thomas Haden Church) who incorporates stereotypical, faux-poetic wisdom about nature into every conversation. Lucky for Evan, his daughter, Olivia (Yara Shahidi, saving the movie with her spark), possesses a security blanket—which she calls a "goo-ga"—that helps her transmit her imaginary friends' miraculously accurate stock tips.

The buzz: That's a pretty wobbly concept for a family movie (unless 5-year-olds really have taken over Wall Street), and that's coming from someone who kinda liked the Eddie Murphy-pilots-an-Eddie-Murphy- shaped-spaceship comedy "Meet Dave." As long as the actor controls his tendency to shout as a shortcut to appealing to youngsters, maybe "Imagine That" will be a funny story of parenting, not a manic insult to today's economic woes.

The verdict: Certain childish stuff works, from loading up pancakes with grossly incompatible toppings to Evan reduced to saying stocks have wet the bed or will soon fall off their bike. And when Evan gives into Olivia's playful conditions for communicating with her friends, "Imagine That" becomes a touching portrait of the silliness that comes along with being a father. However, this rarely imaginative movie takes too long to get going and closes with a hilariously far-fetched ending that suggests people can only get ahead by insulting their boss. After exhaustingly unfunny bits like Murphy yelling, "Poop. Doo doo. Stinky. Ca ca," and later screaming, "I want my goo-ga!!" the kids in the audience won't be the only ones in need of a nap.

Did you know? Evan is so detached from the experience of raising a child that he doesn't even know his "Barney" from his "Blue's Clues." Is this not the most insulting mistake a parent can make?