Daddy's Girls

Do you recall the 1965 farce Boeing Boeing, in which Tony Curtis played a man with a trio of lovers? Israeli filmmaker Lily Sheffy's 50-something father, Yaron, appears to be living his own version of this story, with a pregnant girlfriend in Israel and a couple of paramours in Germany. Sheffy follows her divorced dad as he jets between two countries and three partners in an intricate juggling act that veers into dangerous territory—particularly when the marriage-averse Yaron agrees to wed his Israeli sweetheart. Inevitably, things fall apart badly: Yaron misses the birth of his child, the women learn about each other, and he winds up hospitalized with a heart attack. Unfortunately, much of this story is baffling; we never learn what Yaron does for a living or how he can finance such a bizarre life, and it's hard to understand why such a boorish man would be desirable to three seemingly intelligent and attractive ladies. The reasons behind the film are also a mystery: Lily is irritated with her dad's irresponsibility, while he barely acknowledges her presence. In short, Daddy's Girls is a train wreck of a documentary, but like the best of reality TV, it's hard not to get caught up in its outrageous twists and turns. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)