There are dad movies that are about capable, strong-willed men who overcome unthinkable odds to save the day, and then there are dad movies that make you miss your dad. The latter type of film hits much harder when the paterfamilias has shed its mortal coil, which is why Major League Baseball holds a “Field of Dreams” game once a year in the sculpted cornfield stadium where Phil Alden Robinson’s classic was filmed. Many people miss their old man. And, frankly, even if you don’t have such dad issues, the emotion expressed in movies about father-son relationships not titled “The Great Santini” can run the water through the power of pure empathy.
If you’re making a list of dad movie stars, Dennis Quaid should definitely be in your top 10. “The Long Riders,” “The Right Stuff” and “Any Given Sunday” are classics of the genre. But if you’re looking for Quaid’s purest dad movie, his must-see is Gregory Hoblit’s somewhat forgotten “Frequency.” The well-reviewed, whimsical sci-fi film wasn’t a hit when it hit theaters in 2000, but it became something of a cult film among fans of the male whiner. The narrative makes no sense even by time travel standards, but you work with it because the hook is too good.
I think your best bet is to watch “Frequency”, which influenced the K-drama “Signal”, knowing as little as possible. Still, if you need a little more convincing, let me sell you this underrated gem.
Frequency is a strangely heartfelt thriller with a time-travel twist.
“Frequency” touches on many bases. It is a time travel film where a father (Quaid) and his son (Jim Cviensel) converse on an amateur radio over a blazing Northern Lights. You shot this movie badly and hired the wrong director, and you have an all-time screamer on your hands (which would have been the case for “Field of Dreams” as well). But Hoblit, a talented television director (“Hill Street Blues,” “NYPD Blue”), who made the leap to feature films with “Primal Fear” (which launched Edward Norton’s career) and “Fallen,” grounds the whole thing by relying on the procedural thriller element at the heart of Toby Emmerich’s screenplay. Yes, there’s a killer on the loose in this genre stew.
Joining is easy. Quaid’s firefighter was killed in an accident when Caviezel’s cop was six; If you’re not crying while watching these men form a meaningful bond on ham radio, there’s something wrong with your heart. That it doesn’t lose its way when it becomes a straight-up thriller, with the father-son duo combining in a Northern Lights-enabled bull session to foil a criminal, is rather remarkable.
“Frequency” isn’t a classic on the level of “Field of Dreams,” but it works perfectly if you can let its looping time travel logic slide. It’s the kind of well-crafted studio film that you don’t see much anymore. That alone is worth a shout.
