“Daddio” (2023)
Starting with the overdramatic music at the beginning of “Daddio,” I knew this movie was likely trying too hard to be profound, but I tried to be optimistic.
Dakota Johnson stars as a cab rider and Sean Penn is opposite her as a cab driver, Clark. The film mostly takes place on their journey from JFK to midtown Manhattan. The bulk of their ride involves getting stuck behind an accident, so they wind up having a fairly in-depth conversation.
As they get to know each other, our unnamed cab rider exchanges some salacious texts with a mystery person.
Johnson and Penn are two hit-or-miss actors for me. And unfortunately, this one is a miss all the way around.
Penn’s character is so profoundly creepy at times that you expect this to be a horror film at certain parts.
I think some of the sexual content and sexual language is supposed to come across as edgy or refreshing, even, but it just comes across as trying too hard and frankly, outdated.
Matching the overdramatic nature of the score, the performances, the cinematography, the editing, the script and the direction is the almost-cartoonish blonde wig Johnson dons to play her character.
If you’re a fan of Johnson and/or Penn, you should check this out because it is essentially 100 minutes of close-ups of them and a character study type of film. Otherwise, you can safely skip it.