I don't know what to make of "Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star." On one hand, it is a thought provoking introspective on the (albeit ficticious) lives of former child actors, and how we feel pity for those that gave up their childhoods to be hawked as human products. On the other hand, the high profile stars featured in the film are just so pathetic that it's actually fun just to laugh at their misfortune of having lost the glamorous life. Do we pity these former stars, or is it ok to point and laugh? Thankfully, "Dickie Roberts" does a little of both in a lighthearted and silly manner.

Book-ended by "E! True Hollywood Story" segments, “Dickie Roberts” (David Spade) is the embodiment of what that show was built on. Possibly the son of Hutch (of Starsky & Hutch), Dickie was a T.V. child who, after the show he's the star of is cancelled, grows up parentless in Hollywood, longing to get back the only attention he ever received: the spotlight. Unfortunately, he's a loser on the fast track to nowhere, but always hoping for that "next big break." When clued in (by Leif Garrett) that Rob Reiner is casting the "role of a lifetime," Dickie sets off to do anything to get the part, even hire a foster family so that he can act like "one of the kids" again.

Of course, since the film is Produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore Productions, and written in part by Spade, reliving his childhood leaves plenty of room for pee-pee, fart, and language jokes aimed at it's PG-13 audience. The jokes are kept to a minimum, so they aren't too over the top, and there are plenty of one-liners throughout the film to keep the laughs constant. Spade even pokes fun at himself when the kids in the film tell Dickie to "No touchy," a catch-phrase from Spade's voice-over as the star of Disney's "The Emperor's New Groove." However, Spade breaks no new ground in the joke department, and many of his lines seem stale and outdated. Even poor Jon Lovitz's character Sidney (Dickie's agent) is a rehash of Jon's SNL sketches.

Thankfully, there are plenty of supporting actors and cameos to hold up the rest of the film. Mary McCormack is Dickie's foster Mom Grace, and she plays the part of struggling Mother and neglected wife wonderfully. Dickie's new siblings, Sally and Sam (Jenna Boyd and Scott Terra, respectfully) are perfectly cast as the introverted kids who at first pick on Dickie, but eventually see him for who he really is: a caring and misguided friend.

Of course, the best scenes are from the cameos of "former child actors." From the opening scenes, when Emmanuel Lewis boxes Dickie in a "Celebrity Boxing" special, the flow of former child stars is almost constant. From Alyssa Milano ("Who's The Boss?"), as Dickie's on-again, off-again girlfriend, to a poker game including Leif Garrett, Corey Feldman, Danny Bonaduce, Barry Williams, and Dustin Diamond, the former stars are there supporting Dickie, and poking fun at themselves at the same time. The extra bonus of a "We Are The World of Fomer Child Stars" recording session over the ending credits is in itself worth the price of admission.

And that is what makes "Dickie Roberts" work. It doesn't push too far at making fun, and is lighthearted enough without becoming schmaltzy. As the saying goes, "if you can't laugh at yourself, whom can you laugh at?" Well, thankfully, we have the former child stars making fun of themselves, so we can laugh right along with them. Just make sure to throw some pee-pee jokes in for good measure.