User Reviews

This is hands down, the worst movie I've ever seen in my entire life. Ever. The dialogue. The "acting." The fact that the "teenage" father can't be older than 12 years old. It's SO bad that I am still in disbelief that it isn't a parody. The best part, is that they spelled "pregnancy" wrong in the plot description on Prime... "pragnency"... I can't. It's so bad I'm going to force someone else to watch it just so I can feel like I'm not suffering alone.

"After seeing Mahmoud Shoolizadeh's latest productions "Noora", "The Prisoner", and "The Debt", which were deeply moving, I can honestly say that Mahmoud has been discovered 2 new talented teenager actors who can exhibit tender nature and pure emotion of the characters in the movie like I have rarely seen before. Ian (Mike Doherty) and Alyssa (Sandy Marchelletta) both lit up the screen with first rate performances in difficult roles. The film show us the director guide them very well.

Mahmoud's riveting story put a new angle on "Love" the abortion issue- the dilemma caused by a boy who wants to battle to keep his child, who wants his baby who loves his baby. The film opens with scenes showing the growing relationship between two 14 years old teenagers, Ray and Sarah. It shows that both have a need and desire for love. Ray has been orphaned at a young age and lives with his aunt, in the movie most striking scene Ray visits his parents graveside marked by 2 large marble stones. He starts to speak to them and then convulses tears that show his desperate regret at their passing. It's like he is saying "I need you so badly at this hard time." and ends up lying face down on the grave stones. it shows the need one has for stability and love after the loss of parents. As the film progresses Sarah has a deep dream which shows her fears when undergoing an abortion. She obviously has to seek an alternative solution. Ray on the other hand thinks they can make it and care for the child. He dreams about marrying Sarah and living in a house provided by his aunt with a special room for the baby... In another stunning scene Sarah says NO to this saying "We are too young", and uttering the movie's best line "How can you be a good father when you never had one yourself?" Nevertheless Ray continues to progress gaining two jobs and feeling still that they can make it. Without giving away the ending the last scene is more well done that any other and leaves you with the lasting impression that society and humanity has to find a way of completely eradicating the problem of "Teen Pregnancy". One important thought came flooding into my mind. Why was Ray so avid about keeping the child. It was obvious by his angst that he found the thought of it overwhelming. The film Director Mahmoud said " He wanted to be the father he never had." Its a great thought. One major conclusion struck me. In my lifetime I have met many teens who have struggled without parents, especially sons without father's. Ray was poking for love early at 14 years old may be in the wrong direction. As things worked out a substitute father figure may have been better. The movie sparks these kind of thoughts as you watch Ray and Sarah struggle to work out their dilemma. This is a social problem which needs serious attention. The movie is very well paced and just on right length. It has a very appropriate and nice score composed by Greek talented composer George Palousis who Mahmoud Shoolizadeh as a director personally consulted concerning the music and George really did great job.

Despite the fact that Mahmoud Shoolizadeh, the director of the film "Daddy" has made his feature film with all talented volunteer Cast and Crew, and with almost zero budget, he has done several tasks (Producer, Director, Editor, Special effect, Title Designer and….) in his film. In this difficult situation, the film is stunning and amazing. I can just say : "Daddy" is very effective, emotional, realistic and believable.

I am sure that "Daddy" will stay in your heart for a long time and I am still thinking about it. You should see for yourself this stunning Story telling, Directing, Cinematography, Music Composing and great ensemble Cast specially the two lead roles ( Ian Doherty and Alyssa Marchelletta )and great supporting roles portraying Sarah's parents (Kenny Logsdon and Karen Overstreet)and very effective hospital receptionist near the end of the film (Stevie Conway), Great job."

Of all the films I recently watched at the Tampa Underground Film Festival, there were two that packed huge emotional wallops. Both films are best seen with a box of Kleenex nearby and both are small, very low budgeted films that are anything but small in their impact. I'll be doing a review for the wonderful documentary "Code 9: Officer Needs Assistance" very soon. Instead, I want to tell you about the other terrific film, "Daddy", and why I think you and every teenager and pre-teen needs to see it.

Writer/director Mahmoud Shoolizadeh came to the United States from Iran years ago and one of the few things about America that troubled him was our huge illegitimacy rate and this was his inspiration for making "Daddy". However, this film is not a typical sort of film about the problems of teen pregnancy. Again and again, Shoolizadeh chose to avoid formula and the usual clichés you would expect with such a film. The only problem is that he only had a few hundred dollars to work with....yet amazingly he came up with this award- winning and very special film. To get the project made, actors and the film crew agreed to work for free. Apparently, they too felt the project was a more than worthy cause.

When the film begins, you see two very, very young looking kids holding hands and spending time together. Alyssa Marchelletta (Sarah) and Ian Dougherty (Ray) star in the film and look to be about 12 or 13...not the usual sorts of actors you'd expect to be in such a picture because they simply look too young. However, this couple soon learns the news...Sarah is expecting a baby. Seeing children this young dealing with pregnancy is shocking to see in the movie and they are both only kids...kids having kids. However, despite their ages, Marcchelletta and Dougherty pull it off and both have won Best Actor and Actress awards at various film festivals (including a Best Actress at this Tampa festival)...a testament both to their acting abilities as well as Shoolizadeh's ability to elicit such fine performances.

At this point, I assumed I knew where the film would go...and fortunately the film didn't. Sarah is scared and wants to get on with her life but won't consider an abortion (the scene where she imagines what this would be life was striking)...but she also refuses to raise a child herself. Ray, on the other hand, is a dreamer. He thinks the couple can raise the child and despite his age, he obtains two part-time jobs and works his butt off to provide for the baby. And, he is truly a good boy and takes the news of the baby in a very unexpected and adult way...though he is very unrealistic about his ability to provide a home for the child. This gets to a part of the film that ripped my guts out. You learn that Ray's desire to do the right thing is because he lost his parents and is desperate not to have his child grow up without a Daddy. Seeing the boy in the cemetery crying at their graves makes me tear up even as I think about it now. What makes this scene even more amazing is how they did it. You see the camera rise up, up, up above Ray and you wonder how this was done since there's no evidence of a crane nor helicopter. When I asked the director about this, he told me that an inexpensive drone was used for some of the filming and I met another director at the same festival that also achieved amazingly professional results using one of these machines. I would have to say apart from this shot, the rest of the film was also amazingly beautiful...with great cinematography and a lovely setting along the Georgia coast.

I don't want to tell you what happens next...it's really something you need to see for yourself. Suffice to say, Shoolizadeh does not go for a pat Hollywood-style happy ending as realism is what he's trying to achieve most with this film. And, he was proud when he told me that for once in a movie the boy doesn't want to weasel out of his responsibility and wants to behave like a man--a rare thing in a film.

My advice is to see "Daddy" and get your kids to see it as well. Heck, get your neighbor's kids to see it and your nieces and nephews!! It's very appropriate for younger audiences--in fact, they are the best ones to see what it would be like to raise a child alone and remove romantic notions I used to see a lot when I was a teacher, that it was somehow cool that teens were raising children. I just wish someone would help Shoolizadeh finance getting this film into schools, churches, temples and other places so that kids can watch it and it can generate some positive dialog. A terrific little film with a big heart. It's only deficits are that at only 65 minutes and a limited budget, I would have loved to have seen more of the story fleshed out...but understand why this was not possible. See this film!

This is a tenderhearted, tearjerker movie that takes you on an emotional roller coaster. The boy, Ray does well in his first attempt at acting. The scene in the graveyard and the final scene show the raw emotion of young love from a life (Ray) who has had his share of tragedy in his life.