At the risk of sounding like an old fogey, I could almost weep at what's happening to camp movies today if Daddy Day Camp is any indication. Summer camp movies made up a healthy portion of my childhood viewings. Camp Nowhere, Heavyweights, and especially Ernest Goes to Camp were good fun on those late summer nights. Of course, the flicks I grew up with probably aren't as entertaining if I watch them now, but they're leagues more fun than a witless family film like Daddy Day Camp.

A sequel to the 2003 hit Daddy Day Care, Daddy Day Camp loses leads Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garlin. Instead, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Paul Rae step into the roles of Charlie and Phil, two stay-at-home dads who have successfully run their Daddy Day Care business for a few years now. But summer has arrived, and their sons are eager to have fun outside at day camp. Smelling a good business opportunity and not wanting to be away from his son, Charlie (Gooding Jr.) decides to buy up the old summer camp he attended as a kid and take Daddy Day Care to the next level.

As expected, Charlie and Phil (Rae) can't handle thirty kids in the wilderness as well as they assumed. The  misguided nature hikes and skunk attacks inspire Charlie to call upon his ex-Marine father (Richard Gant) for help. But after the camp's disastrous first day leads to a loss in clientele, a foreclosure from the bank seems imminent, leaving Charlie to face off against a rival camp for rich kids as his only way of keeping the camp afloat.

Imagine if I broke into your kitchen, took a sledgehammer to your cabinets, and emptied your fridge before I stomped all over its contents. That's not very funny, is it? Unfortunately, like too many kid-oriented movies these days, this is the kind of humor  Daddy Day Camp holds dear to its heart. To be fair, I loved movies like that as a kid, and if Daddy Day Camp came out back then, I'd probably think it was the greatest film since Richie Rich. Still, the young ones sitting in front of me at the screening I attended didn't let out even a chuckle, so I'm willing to bet Daddy Day Camp isn't likely to entertain many children. 

A condescending one-trick pony, this sequel presumes youngsters aren't able to process anything beyond the most basic character growth or guys getting hit in the groin. Maybe it's a bit funny once or twice, but 90 minutes of going back to the same well for cheap jokes is so lazy even second-graders can tell they're being gypped.

Like Are We Done Yet? from earlier this year, the only reason Daddy Day Camp exists is because the first movie was a big hit, and some studio executive probably saw dollar signs in his or her eyes. The unfunny slapstick pratfalls are the same, but the actors are different, which is like getting hit in the head with a hammer, then being hit again, only the handle has a different color. 

Regarding the lead performances, I expected much better from Gooding Jr. and Rae is a bland substitute for Garlin. Supporting actor Lochlyn Monroe froths at the mouth as the rival camp's jerky owner, and Brian Doyle-Murray simply pops in long enough to remind movie fans he's still alive. Most confusing of all, however, is that Fred Savage, Mr. "Wonder Years" himself, directed this train wreck. After so many years spent as a child star, this guy ought to know a thing or two about crafting something truly wonderful for kids instead of cranking out a 90-minute headache.

I have some advice for parents reading this review. With ticket prices climbing higher every day, make sure a movie is worth it before hauling your little ones to the multiplex. Just think of the money you'll save if  you rent a film you grew up watching again and again. Your wallet will be better off, and so will your children.  

MY RATING: * (out of ****)

(Released by Tri-Star/Revolution Studios and rated "PG" for mild bodily humor and language.)