Rob Schneider’s New Film

Making a movie often involves the backdrop of Hollywood, while promoting a movie often involves glittering outfits, tuxedos, and red carpets.

For veteran comedian and actor Rob Schneider, not so much. 

On Wednesday, September 21, in Phoenix, Arizona, Schneider created buzz for his new movie, Daddy Daughter Trip, in an unlikely way. Donning a baseball cap and T-shirt, the actor paid a special visit to Raising Cane’s, a fast-food restaurant known for its chicken fingers. He served up orders at the drive-thru window as well as free tickets to the Scottsdale, Arizona, premiere of his film. The only thing remotely close to Hollywood glamour was Schneider’s Raising Cane’s T-shirt, which shared the same shade of red as the aforementioned carpet, and perhaps his autographing of posters to give to adoring fans.

Arizona also happens to be the setting for Daddy Daughter Trip, and not solely in terms of plot line, either. The film features actual, shot-on-site Grand Canyon State destinations such as Scottsdale’s Butterfly Wonderland, Sedona’s red rocks, and Williams’s Bearizona Wildlife Park. That’s because Arizona is the state Schneider, his family, and his production company Mandalini Films are proud to call home. 

“Hollywood’s been played out. I love it, but like, I think every hotel and restaurant has been filmed at a million times. We’re so happy to be in Arizona and they were happy to have us, help us. And people were really excited for us to be there,” Schneider said. “Arizona is what California used to be!”

Daddy Daughter Trip is a movie about an Arizona family. Larry Bublé is a dad/floundering inventor trying to do right by his daughter, Meara. All Meara wants is a fabulous spring break trip that she can brag to her teacher and classmates about; all Larry wants is to give Meara just that. The problem is that he can’t afford such a luxury. 

“I wanted to make a movie that was about family and a family struggling,” Schneider said, adding that he was inspired by the down-and-out main characters of Jerry Lewis and Charlie Chaplin movies. “I want people to be able to watch the movie and go, ‘Well my life has problems, but look at that idiot!’”

The titular daddy and daughter in Schneider’s film are played by none other than Schneider and his real-life daughter, Miranda Scarlett. In fact, the whole film is a family affair: Schneider’s daughter from his first marriage, country singer Elle King, shows up; Jackie Sandler, actress and wife of Schneider’s friend Adam Sandler, plays Larry’s wife in the movie; Raising Cane’s is a partner in the film since Schneider and CEO Todd Graves are buddies; and Schneider co-wrote Daddy Daughter Trip with his wife, Patricia Azarcoya Schneider.

It’s this dynamic that lends the film a level of gravitas. The movie is made by a family for other families to watch, or as Schneider said, “Grandma doesn’t need to leave the room.” Furthermore, Miranda is used to the limelight after growing up on the set of Real Rob, a Netflix sitcom that starred the Schneider family in 2015. 

Moving moments while filming Daddy Daughter Trip (during the pandemic, no less) created an extra-rewarding work environment for Schneider and Miranda that deepened their already-close relationship. Schneider recalled one “beautiful” scene when Larry and Meara are looking up at the stars and telling each other how much they love one another, and one such moving moment in which Meara leans over to kiss Larry on the forehead. According to Schneider, Miranda made intuitive creative choices during the making of Daddy Daughter Trip that demonstrated her knack for acting and ability to sink her teeth into the story—and those choices made for some of Schneider’s favorite times on set in his entire career. 

“It’s beautiful seeing kids onscreen, it really is,” Schneider said. “It’s magical. [Miranda] just made some wonderful choices in the movie,” Schneider said beaming with pride. “You forget how magical children are until you see them on the screen and it just takes you back to your childhood.” 

The film also takes the term “motion picture” to heart. Schneider is cognizant of performing with his body—after all, “It’s a moving picture, not a talking picture,” he said. Slapstick comedy reminiscent of the films of Charlie Chaplin, Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis, and Monty Python—Schneider’s idols—figures prominently into Daddy Daughter Trip. Of course, this comedic approach led to bouts of gut-busting chuckles throughout the film’s making. A scene of Larry applying an obscene amount of sunscreen on his back using a beach lounge chair nicely sums up the physical comedy Schneider captures onscreen: awkward and even squirmy, but done with 100 percent effort and commitment, like his famous recurring character Richard Laymer from Saturday Night Live.

“If comedy is a table, one of the legs is Chaplin, one of the legs is Jerry Lewis, one of the legs is Mel Brooks, we’re always trying to be that last leg,” Schneider said. Schneider may be just that, as actor and comedian John Cleese of Monty Python fame makes a cameo in Daddy Daughter Trip. Schneider felt that Cleese’s presence “validated” the movie.

There’s no doubt that comedic storytelling has changed since the heyday of Monty Python, especially with the advent of social media. Schneider cites the example of the Cleese-starring (and co-written) movie A Fish Called Wanda, which is full of jokes with long set-ups. He likened what contemporary storytellers have to do with their work to drivers who use Waze to get to their destination—adjustments must be made and shortcuts taken to appeal to audiences’ shorter attention spans. He brings up the adage that we’re currently living through the golden era of television; therefore, whatever Mandalini tackles next is sure to include a mixture of movies and TV shows.

“I’ve made a lot of movies in my lifetime. I thought I was slowing down at this time in my life, but I feel like I want to do more,” Schneider said. “I’m excited. My best work is still ahead of me.”