An unassuming, light and, may I dare use the word: cute, family story about a divorced father named Evan (Eddie Murphy) who loves his seven-year-old daughter, wants to take responsibility as a father, but can’t quite prioritize the importance of it properly. He is a high-powered stock broker and advisor, on his way up the career ladder. Every commitment he has to his daughter gets broken, not because he is a bad dad, but because work and reality tends to get in his way and priorities are not aligned properly.

His ex-wife Trish (Nicole Ari Parker) understands that and does a surprisingly good job ‘working with him’ on getting things corrected.

His daughter has imaginary friends, three princesses and a queen, who she connects with through the help of a series of routines that start out with her security blanket named ‘Gaga.’ Quite by accident, when his daughter draws all over his notes with markers and crayons, he discovers that the imaginary friends have uncanny investment advice. His career takes off as soon as he starts listening to his daughter and her ‘friends.’

There is a subplot of a business rival of his, John Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church), who abuses his remote Native American ancestry to con his clients. It’s a story about modern business and how single parents need to juggle the realities of career with the immense responsibilities of child-rearing. Of course, it’s also a story about what innocent children can teach us, in their own little ways, and how we can benefit from their contributions in our world.

I laughed, I enjoyed my time in this movie, yet it was light, and if I didn’t bother to sit down and write a few paragraphs  about it I’d quickly forget ever having watched it.

A good movie to watch together if you have younger children.

Rating: **