Billboard Dad
Encyclopedia
Billboard Dad is a 1998 American
direct-to-video
comedy film
, starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
.
, the plot revolves around Emily Tyler (Ashley Olsen
), who enjoys surfing, and her twin sister Tess (Mary-Kate Olsen
), a member of a high diving team, who try various stratagems to get their widowed dad Max, a talented artist
and sculptor, a girlfriend. After all their attempts end in failure, Tess and Emily – with a little help from their friend, Cody (who has an obvious crush on Tess) – decide to paint an advertisement on a giant billboard
situated high above Sunset Boulevard
. A lady named Debbie answers the ad, and she brings her friend Brooke as a back up. Brooke and Max coincidentally meet and take a liking to each other and Debbie agrees they should start dating. At first, Tess and Emily don't like Brooke's son Ryan, but when he helps foil an elaborate scheme by Max's business manager
Nigel to break up the romantic relationship between Max and Brooke (Nigel thinks Max's work will suffer as a result), the girls eventually accept him.
Some have seen the film as a modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
, mostly because at the end of the film, every character is satisfied and happy, except, of course, for the villainous minority character.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen are American actresses and entrepreneurs.Both have appeared in television and films since infancy. Since then, they have continued their celebrity through numerous television programs, films, interviews, as well as commercial endorsements...
.
Plot
Set in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the plot revolves around Emily Tyler (Ashley Olsen
Ashley Olsen
Ashley Fuller Olsen is an American actress, fashion designer, producer, and author. She co-founded luxury fashion brand The Row and the more affordable line Olsenboye with her twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen and started her own fashion company called Elizabeth and James...
), who enjoys surfing, and her twin sister Tess (Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen is an American actress, producer, author and fashion designer. She made her career debut in 1987 alongside her twin sister Ashley Olsen in the television series Full House...
), a member of a high diving team, who try various stratagems to get their widowed dad Max, a talented artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and sculptor, a girlfriend. After all their attempts end in failure, Tess and Emily – with a little help from their friend, Cody (who has an obvious crush on Tess) – decide to paint an advertisement on a giant billboard
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
situated high above Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
. A lady named Debbie answers the ad, and she brings her friend Brooke as a back up. Brooke and Max coincidentally meet and take a liking to each other and Debbie agrees they should start dating. At first, Tess and Emily don't like Brooke's son Ryan, but when he helps foil an elaborate scheme by Max's business manager
Business manager
In a general context, a business manager is a person who manages the work of others in order to run a business efficiently and make a large profit...
Nigel to break up the romantic relationship between Max and Brooke (Nigel thinks Max's work will suffer as a result), the girls eventually accept him.
Some have seen the film as a modern retelling of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
, mostly because at the end of the film, every character is satisfied and happy, except, of course, for the villainous minority character.
Cast
- Ashley OlsenAshley OlsenAshley Fuller Olsen is an American actress, fashion designer, producer, and author. She co-founded luxury fashion brand The Row and the more affordable line Olsenboye with her twin sister Mary-Kate Olsen and started her own fashion company called Elizabeth and James...
as Emily Tyler - Mary-Kate OlsenMary-Kate OlsenMary-Kate Olsen is an American actress, producer, author and fashion designer. She made her career debut in 1987 alongside her twin sister Ashley Olsen in the television series Full House...
as Tess Tyler - Tom AmandesTom AmandesTom Amandes is an American actor. His best known role to date is that of the role of Dr. Harold "Hal" Abbott on the The WB Drama series Everwood, and as Eliot Ness in the 1990's version of The Untouchables TV series.- Career :...
as Maxwell Tyler - Jessica TuckJessica TuckJessica Ines Tuck is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Megan Gordon Harrison on One Life to Live, Gillian Gray on Judging Amy, and Nan Flanagan on True Blood. She also appeared as Madeline Peterson Woods on Days of our Lives.-Personal life:Tuck was born in New York City and is a...
as Brooke Anders - Carl Banks as Nigel
- Ellen RatnerEllen RatnerEllen Ratner is a news analyst on the Fox News Channel and appears on The Strategy Room and The Long and Short of It. She is also White House Correspondent and Bureau Chief for the Talk Radio News Service, covering the White House and is heard on over 400 radio stations across the US...
as Debbie - Sam Saletta as Ryan
- Rafael Rojas III as Cody
- Troian BellisarioTroian BellisarioTroian Avery Bellisario is an American actress. She currently stars as Spencer Hastings in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars.-Career:Bellisario made her acting debut in the 1988 film Last Rites at the age of 3...
as Kristen - Anglelique Parry as Julianne
- Bailey LuetgertBailey ChaseBailey Chase is a stage and television actor known for his role as Butch Ada in the television series Saving Grace, his recurring roles as Graham Miller in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Christopher "Chris" Robert Hughes in the soap opera As the World Turns and Beckett 'Becks' Scott on Ugly...
as Brad Thomas - Vincent Bowman as Buzz Cut
- Debra ChristoffersonDebra Christofferson-Filmography :* Weekend Pass as Candy * The Master as girl * Picket Fences as Councilwoman Mary McMurtry * NYPD Blue as Geri Turner * MouseHunt as Ingrid...
as Autumn - Lisa Montgomery as Enola Rubenstein
- Twink CaplanTwink CaplanTwink Caplan is an American actress, comedian and producer. She is probably best known for her roles in Amy Heckerling's box office hits Clueless and the Look Who's Talking series.-Biography:...
as Chelsea Myers - Diana Morgan as Katherine Buxbaum