Invisible Dad (1998)

Invisible Dad (1998) Full Recap

After a boy named Doug and his dad, Andrew, move into a new house in Oakmore, California, a neighbor named Mr Weiderman comes over to welcome them. Weiderman meets Andrew in front of the house and introduces himself while saying that he's the neighborhood's eye. He adds that his job is to keep the neighborhood and the residents safe. Andrew says he's just moving in, and Weiderman mentions that he'll need his new neighbor's full name for his report.

Andrew then says his name and adds that he has a son. After Weiderman writes it down in his report, he walks back to his house, and Andrew seems confused by what just happened. Meanwhile, Doug carries some things into the house and eventually admires an old photo of his late mom. Later that night, while Andrew is working on a presentation, Doug spends his time trying to build some parts for his computer.

As Doug then talks about what he's doing, Andrew seems quite focused on his work, and he doesn't pay attention to his son. Doug looks disappointed by this, and he heads to his room immediately. Andrew then notices that his son has left the table, and he looks confused by this. When Doug gets to his room, he starts playing the game he just invented, and Andrew eventually comes over to meet him.

Doug then asks if he would like to play the game, but Andrew says he can't do that tonight because it's already Doug's bedtime. Doug complains that he has never had fun with his dad because he's always working, and this makes Andrew sad. He then tells Doug that he just needs a little more time to adapt to his new job. The next day, Andrew goes to his new workplace and meets his boss, Mrs Whitmer, who says that she has been looking forward to meeting him.

She also welcomes him to her architectural design company, and Andrew says he can't wait to start working with her. He adds that he has always wanted to design a spectacular shopping mall. Whitmer then tells Andrew about the shopping mall project and how it is going to be the cornerstone of a new Oakmore. After she mentions that the mall’s investors want her on the project, she adds that if they don't like her design, they'll have to go elsewhere, and she can't afford to let that happen because it could bring an end to her business.

Andrew looks shocked that she chose him to help save her business, and Whitmer mentions that he comes highly recommended. She then mentions that if he delivers a great design, she'll double his salary. Before Andrew can say anything, a man named Duncan enters Whitmer's office, and she introduces him as the company's junior architect. As she tells Duncan that Andrew will be working on the new shopping mall project, he looks shocked and says he thought he was going to do it.

Whitmer then says that he'll be Andrew's assistant on the project. She also warns him not to defy her orders or get her pissed because she can fire him if she wants. Almost immediately, a man named Artie walks into the office and tells Whitmer that he's done cleaning up the building. Whitmer then introduces him to Andrew as the company's handyman and head of security.

Elsewhere, Doug makes a new friend at school named Jimmy, and they head home together. Shortly after, Doug gets to his house, and Jimmy says goodbye to him. As Doug enters the house, he sees a note on the fridge from Andrew saying that he'll be working late. He also tells Doug not to forget to clean the garage before watching TV.

Following this, Doug heads to the garage to start cleaning it up. Interestingly, Weiderman happens to be watching Doug from inside his house, and he tells his wife that he wonders if their new neighbors have found any of their old neighbor, Mr Rivington's gadgets. As he says that he's going to talk to Doug because he has a bad feeling about their new neighbors, his wife sarcastically asks if he thinks they're also aliens like Rivington. Weiderman doesn't seem to like this, and he mentions that he has documented proof that Rivington was an alien.

He adds that if he hadn’t taken the case seriously, the entire neighborhood would've been destroyed. As he tells his wife not to forget that, he angrily walks out of the house, but she just shakes her head because she's tired of his weird theories about aliens living on Earth. When Weiderman gets to the garage, he asks Doug what’s in the boxes. Doug says it's just a couple of electronic items, and that the previous owner of the house was probably a gadget freak.

Weiderman then mentions that the person was actually an inventor. As Doug wonders why the person didn't take their gadgets, Weiderman says that Rivington actually disappeared. He also mentions that Rivington was an alien who made different gadgets that disturbed the neighborhood. As Doug looks confused, Weiderman tells him to be careful because aliens could still be around.

After Weiderman walks away, Doug thinks about the things he said. He then starts looking around the garage to see if Rivington left any cool stuff there before he left. After a while, Doug finds a strange machine, and as he wonders what it is, he takes it into the house. He then finds a way to connect it to his computer, and the machine's operating system comes online.

Doug eventually spends his time trying to figure out what the machine can do, and he forgets to clean up the garage. When Andrew arrives home, he looks pissed because he can't park his car inside the garage. He then heads into Doug's room and sees the strange machine there. As he asks what it is, Doug says he found it in the garage.

He adds that the machine seems safe, but Andrew still tells him to turn it off before he gets hurt. He also asks why the garage isn't cleaned up, and Doug realizes that he forgot about it. As he says sorry for this, Andrew still seems pissed, and he tells Doug to head down to finish cleaning up the garage. Doug looks disappointed that he won't get to watch a TV show hosted by a lady named Sherry.

Andrew doesn't seem to care about this, and he tells Doug that if he wants to watch TV, he needs to start taking care of his responsibilities. After he leaves the room, Doug looks disappointed and says that he wishes the time was still four o'clock. As he heads out of his room, the machine starts beeping strangely, and it sends a message to the computer that it is already processing Doug's command. After it shows that the request has been granted, Doug coincidentally opens the garage and sees that it's sunny outside.

He looks shocked by this and quickly heads to his room to check out the machine. When he gets there, he sees the command on the computer and realizes that the machine granted his wish. Doug thinks this is cool, and after he turns off the machine, he heads out to finish cleaning the garage. Later that night, while he's watching Sherry's show, Andrew arrives home and asks how Doug's day was.

Doug says it was interesting, and Andrew mentions that he's proud of his son for cleaning up the garage. The next day, while Doug hangs out with Jimmy, the boys start talking about the machine. Jimmy then asks what Doug will do next, but he says that he doesn't know. Jimmy asks if there's anything he wants, and Doug says he wouldn't mind getting a girlfriend for his dad.

Jimmy suggests letting their teacher, Sandy, become Andrew's girlfriend, but Doug doesn't really like this idea. The next day, after Andrew leaves, Doug uses the machine to wish for a banana split, and as it appears in the kitchen, he looks very happy. Much later, Andrew arrives at work and meets with Duncan and Whitmer to discuss the project. Duncan then tells Whitmer that the construction work has to be contracted to a company named Thunderbird Construction because they currently have the lowest bid.

Whitmer says she's worried because Thunderbird has been fined before for using substandard materials. Duncan says it's just rumors, and Whitmer asks Andrew what he thinks. Before Andrew responds, he gets a call from Sandy, who informs him that Doug just called in sick. Andrew looks shocked by this, and he says that he'll head home immediately to check up on him.

Andrew then tells Whitmer that he needs to go home to check up on his son. He also mentions that working with Thunderbird is too risky, and that he thinks they'll be better off with another company. After he leaves the office, Whitmer turns to Duncan and says that she'll have to go with Andrew's advice because he’s in charge of the project. Duncan looks pissed by this, but he doesn't say anything.

Much later, Sandy comes over to check up on Doug. As Andrew welcomes her in, he tells her that Doug has a mild flu, but that he'll be fine. Sandy then talks to Andrew about Doug's performance on a class report about famous movie detectives. She mentions that he copied his entire answer from the internet, and that she's concerned because she knows that he has the potential to get much better.

Andrew says he'll talk to Doug about it, and Sandy mentions that she's already leaving. After she leaves, Andrew goes to Doug’s room to complain about what his teacher said. Doug says he doesn't like history because it's boring, but Andrew says it's not, and that he has to rewrite the report. He then gives Doug his paper and tells him to make history come alive.

After he leaves the room, Doug decides to use the machine to wish for a famous detective to help him with his homework. Surprisingly, a detective suddenly appears in his room, and Doug doesn't seem pleased because it's not Sherlock Holmes. The next day, Doug meets with Jimmy and mentions that he thinks his dad likes Sandy. Jimmy says it's a good thing, but Doug mentions that he doesn't think his dad will ask her out because he's always busy.

Jimmy then tells Doug to ask her out for his dad, and he agrees to do this. When he gets home, he calls Sandy and tells her that Andrew wants to know if she would like to go out with him on Sunday. Sandy says she's interested, and Doug tells her where to meet. He then goes to ask his dad if they can go out for dinner on Sunday, and Andrew agrees.

The next day, Duncan meets with the CEO of Thunderbird Construction, Stillwell. He then mentions that they might have a problem because his company’s new architect thinks Thunderbird uses substandard materials. Stillwell confirms that his company really uses substandard materials, but he insists that he still wants to get the contract. He also mentions that he’s paying Duncan a lot of money to get the deal sealed.

Before Duncan can say anything, Stillwell brings out a brick from his briefcase and mentions that his company uses flour to make their bricks. He adds that they only use a very small amount of clay and cement to make the bricks look solid. Duncan looks shocked by this, and he mentions that the shopping mall could collapse and kill many people if such bricks are used for the project. Stillwell says he doesn't care, and that Duncan just needs to convince the new architect to change his mind.

Elsewhere, Weiderman watches Doug and Jimmy going into the house, and he starts wondering if aliens have taken over their bodies. Meanwhile, Doug uses the machine to wish for Sherry to appear in his room. As she suddenly appears out of nowhere, Doug and Jimmy look shocked. She then asks if they're aliens, and Doug says they are.

Coincidentally, Andrew arrives home early from work and goes to check up on his son. When he gets to Doug's room, he sees Sherry inside and looks shocked. Jimmy quickly runs away because he doesn't want any trouble, and Andrew asks how Sherry got to his son's room. Sherry asks if he's going to experiment on her, but before Andrew says anything, Doug uses the machine to send her back to where she came from.

Andrew looks shocked by this, and he tells Doug to destroy the machine. As Andrew heads downstairs, Weiderman knocks on the door, and he goes to meet him. Weiderman then asks if he has noticed anything strange around the house because he believes that some aliens are after Rivington's inventions. Andrew looks confused by this, but Weiderman mentions that Rivington was an alien.

Andrew doesn’t believe this, but he thanks Weiderman for the warning. Meanwhile, Doug looks disappointed that his dad wants him to destroy the machine. He then says that he sometimes wishes that his dad would just disappear. Suddenly, Andrew notices that his body is slowly becoming invisible, and he quickly runs inside to look at himself in a mirror.

Just as he completely becomes invisible, Doug destroys the machine. Andrew eventually calls Doug to ask if his son did something to him with the machine. Doug initially looks confused, but he realizes that he actually wished for his dad to disappear. Andrew then tells him to bring down the machine, but Doug says he has already destroyed it.

Andrew looks disappointed by this, but Doug says he can try to fix it. Elsewhere, Stillwell goes to meet Duncan at the office to remind him about their deal. Duncan says he shouldn't be there, but Stillwell mentions that he can get his boys to take care of Andrew. Duncan says he doesn't want Andrew killed, but that Stillwell can just scare him off.

Stillwell says he'll do just that, and as he leaves, it turns out that Artie heard everything they talked about. The next day, Doug tells his dad that he still needs some time to fix the machine. Andrew then covers his head and goes outside to get the newspaper. Surprisingly, he sees Weiderman hiding near the house and taking photos of him.

Andrew looks confused by this, but as he goes to confront Weiderman, Doug sees this and quickly takes his dad back inside. A few hours later, Andrew comes over to ask what Doug wants for dinner. Doug then remembers that he set his dad up for a date with Sandy, and he mentions that they're going to a restaurant. Andrew doesn't think he can go there with the way he looks, but Doug says he's got that covered.

After this, Doug gets Andrew to dress weirdly by covering his entire body before they head to the restaurant. When they get there, Doug sees Sandy and tells Andrew that they have to sit with her. Interestingly, some of the other guests at the restaurant laugh at Andrew's outfit, but he just ignores them. He then says it's a surprise to see Sandy at the restaurant, but she mentions that Doug called her.

Sandy also wonders if everything is okay with him, and Andrew says he just has a sunburn. As the guests laugh about this, Andrew calls the waiter, but the man refuses to attend to him. Andrew grows increasingly frustrated by this, and he says that he's going to the bathroom. Doug then apologizes to Sandy for how the date is going, but she mentions that she's actually flattered that he tried to set her up with his dad.

Meanwhile, Andrew takes off his clothes and heads back to the restaurant to trip the waiter, who then pours some soup on the guests who were laughing earlier. Andrew looks happy about this, and after he changes his clothes, he heads back to sit with Sandy and Doug. The next day, Whitmer tells Duncan that Andrew just called to inform her that he won't be at work for a week. Duncan then asks if he can take over the project, but Whitmer suggests taking Andrew's work materials to his house so he can continue working.

Duncan looks disappointed by this, but he and Artie eventually head to Andrew's house to drop off his things. That night, Duncan meets with Stillwell to give him an update on the situation. As he complains that Whitmer has had the office moved to Andrew's house until he finishes up the blueprints, Stillwell tells him to steal them and claim them as his own. Elsewhere, Sandy comes over to see Andrew and Doug at the house.

She brings a box of pizza along, and as Doug sees this, he looks excited. He then heads to his room, and Andrew thanks her for the pizza. As they confess their feelings to each other, Andrew takes off the cloth covering his face, and Sandy passes out when she sees that he's invisible. When she wakes up, Doug and Andrew explain what happened to her, and she says that she'll check the library to figure out anything she can find about the machine or the scientist who made it.

Andrew thanks her for this, and Doug looks happy that his dad now has a girlfriend. The next day, Duncan receives one of Andrew's blueprints and takes them to a forger who helps him duplicate the design with his name on it. He then goes to meet Whitmer, who asks if Andrew has sent any blueprints yet. Duncan says he hasn't, and Whitmer looks disappointed by this.

Duncan then shows her the forged design and tells Whitmer that he has already come up with some ideas. Whitmer looks impressed by this, and she says that if Andrew doesn't deliver, she'll go with Duncan’s design. Later that day, Sherry explains her encounter from the other day on a TV show. As she talks about being abducted by aliens, Weiderman looks pleased because her claim proves that he has been right all along.

Meanwhile, Sandy comes back from the library and tells Doug and Andrew that there were two Rivington brothers living in Oakmore a few years ago. She says there were identical twins, and that the one who used to perform ridiculous experiments was Emerson. She adds that his brother, Gerald, went to Africa a few years ago to discover real gems, and that he's still believed to be living there. Interestingly, Gerald really happens to be in Africa, and as he reads a newspaper about Sherry getting captured by aliens in Oakmore, he looks shocked and wonders if one of his brother's inventions is responsible for this.

Almost immediately, he tells his assistant to get him a plane ticket to California as soon as possible. Back in Oakmore, Doug gets the machine fixed, but when he tests it, it doesn't work. Andrew looks disappointed and walks away, and Doug tells Sandy that he let his dad down. Sandy says it's not his fault, and she heads down to talk to Andrew.

After she leaves, Doug looks at the machine again and realizes that it could work if he's able to get another circuit board. He then calls Jimmy and tells his friend about his plan to steal a circuit board from a store owned by a man named Mr Wilson. The next day, Jimmy and Doug head there together, and they notice that Wilson isn't watching them. Doug then steals the circuit board and takes a spare one just in case the first one doesn't work.

Unfortunately, Wilson catches him and reports this to the police. Andrew and Sandy eventually hear about this, and they head to the police station. Since Andrew can go inside because he's invisible, Sandy heads in to meet the head detective. The detective then mentions that Wilson wants to press charges, but Sandy tries to plead that Doug is only a minor.

Wilson doesn't seem to care about this, and the detective says he can't let Doug go. Meanwhile, Andrew grows impatient inside the car, and he takes off his clothes before heading into the police station. He then scares Wilson and the detective, and Doug quickly leaves with Sandy. When Andrew returns to the car, he scolds Doug for what he did, and he mentions that his son should've asked for the money.

Sandy says he was only trying to help, and Andrew asks if they need to buy the circuit board. Doug says there's no need because he took a spare one. Andrew seems impressed by this, but he mentions that Doug will have to go back to pay Wilson for it. When they arrive home, Doug says he'll start working on the machine, and Sandy asks Andrew if he still has to finish up the blueprints.

Andrew says he already gave the final designs to Duncan when he came to the house not long ago. Meanwhile, Duncan delivers the final blueprints to Whitmer, and she commends him for doing a very good job. She then calls Andrew to fire him for failing to send the blueprints to her. Before Andrew can explain himself, the call ends, and he realizes that Duncan stole his designs.

As he says he can prove that his designs were stolen, Sandy asks if he'll be able to show up for the presentation tomorrow. Andrew says he can't go while being invisible, and he starts thinking of what to do. Later that night, Gerald arrives at the house, and Weiderman looks shocked to see him. As he tells his wife that Rivington is back, she says that he’s just seeing things.

Meanwhile, Doug and Sandy welcome Gerald into the house, and he tells them that he's just coming back from Africa. He says he figured out that one of his brother's inventions might be causing them some trouble. Doug and Sandy confirm this, and as Andrew shows up, Gerald realizes that they have a big problem on their hands. Elsewhere, Artie accuses Duncan of stealing Andrew's designs, but he denies this.

As Artie insists that he knows what he's talking about, Duncan knocks him out in his office. Duncan then calls Stillwell to remind him about the presentation tomorrow. He also tells Stillwell to make sure Andrew doesn't show up at work. Stillwell then says he'll send two of his men to stay outside Andrew's house to watch him.

Meanwhile, Gerald finds the machine's blueprint, and Doug looks excited because he might be able to make his dad visible again. The next morning, they finish working on the device, but it doesn't work yet again. As Gerald says he needs more time to figure out what's wrong, Andrew says he can't wait any longer. Sandy then says she can go to his office to defend his work since no one there knows her.

Andrew says it's a good idea, and he takes off his clothes before leaving the house. Stillwell's men see Sandy leaving the house, but since they can't see Andrew, they assume that he's still inside. At the office, Duncan tells Whitmer that Thunderbird sent them some samples to show the investors, and that he thinks working with them is the best option for the company. Whitmer agrees with his suggestion, but she suddenly hears a strange sound near her office.

Duncan says he'll check what it is, and as he leaves her office, he stands in front of the room where he locked Artie, who has been tied up. Shortly after, the investors arrive, and Duncan goes through with the presentation. They seem impressed by this, and as Whitmer suggests taking a break to get some refreshments, Stillwell shakes Duncan's hand and congratulates him on doing a good job with the presentation. Sandy arrives right on time, and Andrew says it's time for him to put his invisibility powers to good use.

Interestingly, Artie has just managed to free himself after leaving the room. Before he gets to the conference room, Andrew controls Duncan to spill his drink on Stillwell's suit. Stillwell looks confused by this, but Andrew also gets Duncan to harass one of the female employees in the conference room. The investors look shocked by this, and as Duncan wonders what's happening, Whitmer tells him not to ruin his special moment.

She also tells him to go to the bathroom to clean up. When he gets there, Andrew starts beating him up for stealing his designs. Duncan is unable to see him, but Andrew tells him to go outside and confess that he stole the designs. Duncan says he can't do that, and Andrew then knocks him out.

Invisible Dad (1998) Ending Explained

Coincidentally, Gerald and Doug manage to fix the machine, and Andrew becomes visible again. He then decides to take Duncan's clothes so he can head back to the conference room. As Doug and Gerald leave the house to head to Andrew's office, Stillwell's men show up to stop them. While Gerald stands up to them, Doug goes back inside to use the machine to wish for the men to be sent to jail.

Back at the office, Andrew enters the conference room and tells Whitmer that Duncan is a fraud. He also mentions that Duncan tried to get Thunderbird to work on the project so that he'd get a huge amount of money from the construction company. Whitmer asks if Andrew can prove that Duncan is a fraud, and he says that he can. He then shows her his original designs, and Stillwell quickly leaves the room.

Artie quickly tries to stop him, but Stillwell still manages to escape, even though he loses his suitcase. As Andrew and the others leave the conference room, Artie shows Whitmer the substandard brick that Thunderbird would've used for the mall. Whitmer looks disappointed by this, and she apologizes to the investors for what happened. The investors don't seem to have a problem with this, and they mention that they're still willing to go through with the project if a new construction company is hired.

Doug and Gerald already happen to be around, and Sandy goes to meet them with Andrew. Whitmer then apologizes to Andrew for firing him, and she says that she would like him to come back to work. Andrew says he'd like to get a couple of days off so he can spend time with his son, and Whitmer agrees to let him take a break. While they're talking, Duncan comes out of the bathroom and runs away from the building, but they just ignore him.

Much later, Weiderman continues snooping around Andrew's house to see if there are aliens inside. Gerald then scares him away by pretending to be an alien, and he quickly runs back home looking scared. As he tells his wife what happened, she also scares him with the alien mask she just got. Shortly after, Gerald packs his things and gets ready to leave for the airport.

As he enters a taxi with the machine, he asks Doug for the name of the popular TV presenter he wished for the other day. Doug says it's Sherry, and Gerald then wishes for her to appear in the taxi. As this happens, Sherry asks if he's an alien, but he just asks her out. Sherry then agrees to follow him, and Gerald tells the taxi driver to take them to the airport.

After he leaves, Doug tells his dad that he could've used the machine to bring his mom back to life. However, Andrew says that some things aren't meant to change. As Doug says that some things are just meant to be, Andrew hugs him and Sandy before they head back inside together. After finding a machine that can grant his wishes, Doug accidentally uses it to wish for his dad to disappear.

This makes Andrew turn invisible, and as he tries to get Doug to undo his wish, he realizes that his son has destroyed the machine just like he had asked. Unfortunately, Doug is unable to fix the machine despite his efforts, and he looks disappointed. Just as Andrew’s reputation at work gets threatened, Doug teams up with Gerald to fix the machine, and as it works this time, Andrew is able to defend himself and expose Duncan’s shady dealings. In this story, we learn that, even though a quick fix might seem like a good way to solve your problems, you shouldn’t forget that some things are just meant to be.