My Worst Movie Dads List

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33.

James Court, ...Say Anything



The late John Mahoney plays a nursing home employee whose daughter (Ione Skye) is getting ready to go to school in London after a whirlwind summer romance with Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack). After doing everything he could to keep Lloyd and his daughter apart, it's revealed that Court is being investigated by the IRS because he's been accused of stealing money from deceased nursing home residents...nice guy, huh?



32.

Dr. Evil, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery



After being unfrozen after 30 years, Dr. Evil (Mike Meyers) learns from his wife (Mindy Sterling) that he has a son (Seth Green) who was actually created in a test tube before Evil was frozen and is now 16 years old. Evil expects unconditional love and acceptance from the son he never knew existed without putting out any effort to get to know the understandably resentful 16 year old.



31.

Dusty Mayron, Daddy's Home



Ironically, this character's father already made the list but this guy is much worse than his father. Just when his kids' new stepdad (Will Ferrell) is starting to make inroads with them, Dusty shows up and claims that he wants his family back. The scummy thing about Dusty is that he is more interested in reuniting with his ex-wife (Linda Cardellini) than he is with being a father to his children. His children are just means to a very smarmy end.



30.

Joe Gideon, All that Jazz



Roy Scheider received his second Oscar nomination for his performance as film director and Broadway director/choreographer who has time to finish editing his movie, hold auditions and begin rehearsals for a new Broadway musical starring his ex-wife (Leland Palmer), lie to his live in girlfriend (Ann Reinking) so that he can sleep with a leggy dancer (Deborah Geffner) who he only cast in order to have sex with her, but can't commit to spending a single weekend with his daughter, Michelle (Erzebet Foldi). The only scene he has in the movie with her alone, he's using her to try out new choreography. My screen name for this site is named after this character.



29.

Henry Hill, Goodfellas



Henry Hill was a wiseguy who was initiated into mob life as a child and knew no other way to live. Unfortunately, he didn't give a damn about the danger his work put his children and handicapped baby brother in. Even when he was in jail, he asked wife Karen (Lorainne Bracco) to smuggle in contraband for him...did he even consider what would have happened to his kids if Karen had been caught?



28.

Jack Burns, Meet the Parents




Robert De Niro plays a former CIA agent who commands his family with an iron fist and puts his future son-in-law, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) through hell when his schoolteacher daughter, Pam(Teri Polo) brings him home to meet for the first time for her sister's wedding. Jack is one of those fathers who thinks no one is good enough for his daughter...his daughter could have brought home a billionaire and Jack would have put him through the same hell that he put male nurse Greg through. Yes, Greg makes mistakes, but most of them were made through the unbelievable pressure Jack puts on him. The thing about Jack that really puts him on this list is he complete disregard of the fact that his daughter loves this guy.



27.

Reese Bobby, Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby



Gary Cole almost steals Will Ferrell's thunder playing Ricky's long-lost dad who abandoned Ricky and his mom (Jane Lynch) when Ricky was a kid. After Ricky has a meltdown that keeps him off the racetrack, Reese shows up and decides he's going to help his son get back on track (literally) through bizarre training rituals like putting a live panther in his vehicle with him and putting Ricky in a car with cocaine stashed aboard and then calling the cops on him. OK, it wasn't really cocaine, but Ricky thought it was.



26.

Ed Wilson, Natural Born Killers



The late Rodney Dangerfield was a real eye opener in this unforgettable performance as the sociopath slob who physically, mentally, and sexually abused his daughter, Mallory (Juliette Lewis), which probably had a lot to do with her becoming a serial killer.



25.

Pa Cox, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story



Raymond J Barry was very funny playing the abusive father of an aspiring country and western singer (John C. Reilly) who he blames for his brother's death and everything else that's wrong with his life. This role is actually a comic homage to another bad movie dad coming up on this list.



24.

Paul Finnegan, Short Cuts



Oscar winner Jack Lemmon plays the sweet-natured father of an arrogant news anchorman (Bruce Davisen), who he has never gotten along with. When he learns that his grandson was hit by a car, he arrives at the hospital and spends the whole time he's there playing card tricks.



23.

Haven Hamilton, Nashville




Henry Gibson gave a powerhouse performance whose career as a country and western singer has brought him his own recording company and now that he is considering throwing his hat into the political ring, he has decided to groom his son take over his recording empire. Of course, it's later revealed through an interview with a British journalist (Geraldine Chaplin) that Haven has his own aspirations, which have nothing to do with his father or his company, but Havej is blissfully unaware.



21.

L C Cheever, Lucky You



Oscar winner Robert Duvall plays a championship poker player who has won a pafrticular televised tournament 3 threes in a row who is more interested in a 4th win than with a relationship with his estranged son (Eric Bana). And anyone who knows Duvall's career probably already knows that this is only his first appearance on this list.



20.

Richard Hoover, Little Miss Sunshine



I went back and forth about whether or not this dad belongs on this list and I've finally decided that he does belong here. Hoover has spent years trying to get some corporate sponsoring behind his lame-brained self help package to no avail at the expense of his family. He ignores wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette) and is embarrassed by his unhappy son (Paul Dano) who hates his life so much that he has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a jet pilot. When his daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) gets a chance to enter a children's beauty contest, he has no qualms about telling her that she is too overweight and unattractive to win. There is some change in Richard as the closing credits roll. but not enough to keep him off this list.



20.

Richard Hoover, Little Miss Sunshine



I went back and forth about whether or not this dad belongs on this list and I've finally decided that he does belong here. Hoover has spent years trying to get some corporate sponsoring behind his lame-brained self help package to no avail at the expense of his family. He ignores wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette) and is embarrassed by his unhappy son (Paul Dano) who hates his life so much that he has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a jet pilot. When his daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) gets a chance to enter a children's beauty contest, he has no qualms about telling her that she is too overweight and unattractive to win. There is some change in Richard as the closing credits roll. but not enough to keep him off this list.
I'd say the worse parent in this film was the grandfather who, you know,
WARNING: spoilers below
spent hours and hours alone in the basement with his 8 year old granddaughter teaching her to dance like a stripper.

I know that the joke was that she didn't realize it was so sexual. But . . . he did.

An adult man. Coaching a child to dance that way. I literally get grossed out whenever I see the film's cover or read its title.



19.

Rex, The Glass Castle



Woody Harrelson was extremely effective in bringing this extremely unsympathetic character the screen. Rex is the lazy, abusive alcoholic father of four children who refuses to get a job and has kept his family homeless for years. He is not at all concerned about his children not having eaten in three days, but always seems to keep a pint of whiskey in his pocket.



18.

Fletcher Reede, Liar Liar



This is one of the few dads on this list who actually admits that he's a bad dad during the
film. Fletcher is a divorced workaholic attorney who is constantly putting his work ahead of spending time with his son (Justin Cooper). Fletcher has disappointed his son so many times that when his son blows out the candles at his 5th birthday party, he makes a wish that his father would be unable to tell a lie for one whole day. The wish miraculously comes true and Fletcher is unable to lie for 24 hours, which endlessly complicates his adult life, but eventually helps him come to terms with being a lousy dad.



17 .

Ray Cash, Walk the Line



Robert Patrick brings this undeniably smarmy parent to life. Cash is the father of country music legend Johnny Cash, who, according to this film, blamed Johnny for the accidental death of his younger brother and no matter how successful Cash became, never let him forget that. No matter what Johnny accomplished, in his eyes, Johnny was the careless and worthless young bum who was responsible for killing his little brother.