CAUTION -- REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS -- As the director says in the DVD extras, he likes to make movies where the main characters encounter something unexpected that changes their lives for the better. This is definitely the overall theme of "The Kid." Bruce Willis is at his likable best, Lily Tomlin gives a fine, understated performance, and Daniel Von Bargen as Willis' dad is just perfect.
Russ (Willis) is to turn 40 in 2 days. He is a competent and wealthy image consultant who also happens to be a total jerk. Meets a lady on the plane, flying to Calif. for a new job as a TV anchorwoman, she asks for advice, he rattles it off, she says "thanks", then he says with a smile, "Now please lady, will you shut up?" That is typical of his interactions with everyone, even his dad. When his dad had asked him to come home to visit and help move, Russ sends a check instead, his rationale -- "time is money, and my time is worth a lot more than it costs to pay a mover."
Then, coming home, he glimpses a "kid" in a red jacket, who eludes him and slips away on his bike. Later, he finds a red toy biplane on his doorstep, "Rusty" written crudely underneath. Then the "kid" is in Russ' home. Turns out, they compare scars and birthmarks and somehow, this "kid", Rusty, is "Russ" when he was 8 years old. He is chubby, meek, has a lisp, and eats all the wrong things. Rusty, going around the house observes, "I can't believe I grew up alone, and there isn't even a dog in the house!"
So, why is this happening? Russ figures it is so he can help the "kid" grow up properly. Russ teaches Rusty how to defend himself, and through the process of their getting to know each other, Russ eventually realizes he has let himself down, not growing into the person he had wanted to be as a "kid". Together, they begin to change adult Russ' outlook on life.
Near the end, Russ and Rusty, 8 and 40, are eating in an old-style diner after they had passed through a tunnel which seemed to transport them to a different time. A dog comes to their table, and its owner at the door calls to "Chester", the dog, the name the "kid" had always planned to give his dog. They follow the fellow outside, and it turns out to be Russ around age 70, gray hair, mustache, now a pilot, they all three meet face to face. Really a touching moment. Then Russ (70) flies away with dog and wife and obviously a great life.
Russ (40) and Rusty (8) are on the tarmac as the plane flys away, jumping and yelling, "We did it", celebrating the life they now both know they will have. There is one short following scene which shows Russ' changed interaction with his co-workers and family, and beginning to take a more relaxed approach to career.
The written description, above, does in no way do justice to the fine writing, musical score, acting, and directing which make this one of the more enjoyable films I have seen.
Russ (Willis) is to turn 40 in 2 days. He is a competent and wealthy image consultant who also happens to be a total jerk. Meets a lady on the plane, flying to Calif. for a new job as a TV anchorwoman, she asks for advice, he rattles it off, she says "thanks", then he says with a smile, "Now please lady, will you shut up?" That is typical of his interactions with everyone, even his dad. When his dad had asked him to come home to visit and help move, Russ sends a check instead, his rationale -- "time is money, and my time is worth a lot more than it costs to pay a mover."
Then, coming home, he glimpses a "kid" in a red jacket, who eludes him and slips away on his bike. Later, he finds a red toy biplane on his doorstep, "Rusty" written crudely underneath. Then the "kid" is in Russ' home. Turns out, they compare scars and birthmarks and somehow, this "kid", Rusty, is "Russ" when he was 8 years old. He is chubby, meek, has a lisp, and eats all the wrong things. Rusty, going around the house observes, "I can't believe I grew up alone, and there isn't even a dog in the house!"
So, why is this happening? Russ figures it is so he can help the "kid" grow up properly. Russ teaches Rusty how to defend himself, and through the process of their getting to know each other, Russ eventually realizes he has let himself down, not growing into the person he had wanted to be as a "kid". Together, they begin to change adult Russ' outlook on life.
Near the end, Russ and Rusty, 8 and 40, are eating in an old-style diner after they had passed through a tunnel which seemed to transport them to a different time. A dog comes to their table, and its owner at the door calls to "Chester", the dog, the name the "kid" had always planned to give his dog. They follow the fellow outside, and it turns out to be Russ around age 70, gray hair, mustache, now a pilot, they all three meet face to face. Really a touching moment. Then Russ (70) flies away with dog and wife and obviously a great life.
Russ (40) and Rusty (8) are on the tarmac as the plane flys away, jumping and yelling, "We did it", celebrating the life they now both know they will have. There is one short following scene which shows Russ' changed interaction with his co-workers and family, and beginning to take a more relaxed approach to career.
The written description, above, does in no way do justice to the fine writing, musical score, acting, and directing which make this one of the more enjoyable films I have seen.