Lauren Miller Rogan took on an enormous task for an up and coming filmmaker having performed the triple crown of writing, producing, and directing 'Like Father'.
Her biggest strength is in the writing. The screenplay is grounded, realistic, and doesn't pander to the audience. She lets story unfold patiently while keeping a solid pace and not being too dialogue heavy. There are some nice ideas here and who doesn't love a father daughter movie? And Lauren, thanks for staying in the drama lane and not veering into comedic distraction for this story. If LMR keeps channeling John Hughes she may evolve into a creative and revered filmmaker.
Screenplay B+
Her second best strength is in Directing. LMR clearly relates to people on an emotional level and that comes through with the acting. Fortunately she was directing two proven leads in Bell & Grammer, but LMR has done a very nice job of allowing the actors to express themselves as much visually as verbally. As for the rest of the cast, it felt like an ensemble of characters you meet briefly standing in line at a concert and not for days on a cruise. They were essentially stereo types and none terribly memorable. 'Like Father' doesn't rise to the success of 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' when it comes to creating an enormously loveable ensemble cast, but you could clearly see LMR was consciously or unconsciously influenced by that film. The technical side is adequate, but this isn't a cinematically driven epic. A few too many shots of the cruise ship activities made the film feel a bit like a travel infomercial for a few fleeting seconds here and there. (Still love you Lauren) Directing B
I'll admit I know very little about the role a producer plays, however I hope Lauren's next film take's place far away from New York or Los Angeles. I can think of a hundred small towns with exceptional drama just waiting to unfold and with LMR's talent of writing and clearly being an 'actors director' she would be far more effective exploring life in the middle. Leave New York to Woody Allen and Los Angeles to everybody else. Producer B
Good Job Lauren.
Her second best strength is in Directing. LMR clearly relates to people on an emotional level and that comes through with the acting. Fortunately she was directing two proven leads in Bell & Grammer, but LMR has done a very nice job of allowing the actors to express themselves as much visually as verbally. As for the rest of the cast, it felt like an ensemble of characters you meet briefly standing in line at a concert and not for days on a cruise. They were essentially stereo types and none terribly memorable. 'Like Father' doesn't rise to the success of 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' when it comes to creating an enormously loveable ensemble cast, but you could clearly see LMR was consciously or unconsciously influenced by that film. The technical side is adequate, but this isn't a cinematically driven epic. A few too many shots of the cruise ship activities made the film feel a bit like a travel infomercial for a few fleeting seconds here and there. (Still love you Lauren) Directing B
I'll admit I know very little about the role a producer plays, however I hope Lauren's next film take's place far away from New York or Los Angeles. I can think of a hundred small towns with exceptional drama just waiting to unfold and with LMR's talent of writing and clearly being an 'actors director' she would be far more effective exploring life in the middle. Leave New York to Woody Allen and Los Angeles to everybody else. Producer B
Good Job Lauren.