Junior Healy (Michael Oliver) is back with his "dad," Ben (John Ritter), and this time they move to a small town known as Mortville, which, to them, looks like a decent place to live in. Young women leave their husbands/boyfriends and line up in front of Ben's doorstep, all falling victim to Junior's menacing ways. As Junior tries to adjust to his new school, he meets his match in the form of Trixie (Ivyann Shawann), a bratty little girl, who shares Junior's knacks for trouble-making. Ben falls in love with the school nurse (Amy Yasbeck), who turns out to be Trixie's mother.
I wasn't a big fan of Problem Child (1990), nor am I interested in its sequel, Problem Child 2 (1991). There is no excuse for the kids in these movies to wreak havoc on adults. There used to be a time when kids weren't supposed to attack adults in movies. Now, apparently, everybody laughs when a kid plays with a grill and blows another guy away. And some of the kid's attempts to getting back at adults isn't funny- -it's crude, sometimes disgusting, and even life-threatening.
And, yes, we do see Junior's trouble-making ways-- he seems to know a lot about setting the barbecue to explode. He also scares off the women willing to go out with Ben, tapes the teenage school bully to a chalkboard, and he even videotapes--and broadcasts--his babysitter and her boyfriend having sex. Even a scene where a man drinks a cup of urine is deemed funny.
And what is so funny about Junior playing with the controls of a roller coaster ride while the passengers and even their parents from below end up vomiting all over the place? All of this belongs in another movie, NOT a kids' movie.
But kids will probably find this stuff funny. They will no doubt see this movie which is being marketed as a "family comedy"(in spite of the MPAA's PG-13 rating), and root for Junior Healy. But I didn't. I did not see him as an innocent child, but as a destructive, vengeful monster. Adults will groan in despair.
Larraine Newman has an over-the-top role as LaWanda Dumore, who wants to marry Ben and knows of Junior's evil ways. She wants to get rid of Junior by sending him to boarding school. She is a bitch on heels. Her sole purpose in this movie is to create a villain in the tradition of Cruela De Vil.
The only person who manages to steal the show is Jack Warden who also returns as Ben's father.
The Problem Child series is an embarrassment to the late John Ritter and Michael Oliver. One may even ask why Oliver's parents would allow their child to play to such a nasty and vile character. And Ivyann Shawann is so annoying as Trixie, you have the feeling that she was only cast to give Junior a cohort in his trouble-making ways. I also didn't buy the preachy subplot about a big, large rock that might be able to make dreams come true.
This movie may have been funny when you were a kid, but as an adult or parent, you'll probably be sometimes shocked at what is being depicted on the screen.
It's obnoxiousness two times around.
I wasn't a big fan of Problem Child (1990), nor am I interested in its sequel, Problem Child 2 (1991). There is no excuse for the kids in these movies to wreak havoc on adults. There used to be a time when kids weren't supposed to attack adults in movies. Now, apparently, everybody laughs when a kid plays with a grill and blows another guy away. And some of the kid's attempts to getting back at adults isn't funny- -it's crude, sometimes disgusting, and even life-threatening.
And, yes, we do see Junior's trouble-making ways-- he seems to know a lot about setting the barbecue to explode. He also scares off the women willing to go out with Ben, tapes the teenage school bully to a chalkboard, and he even videotapes--and broadcasts--his babysitter and her boyfriend having sex. Even a scene where a man drinks a cup of urine is deemed funny.
And what is so funny about Junior playing with the controls of a roller coaster ride while the passengers and even their parents from below end up vomiting all over the place? All of this belongs in another movie, NOT a kids' movie.
But kids will probably find this stuff funny. They will no doubt see this movie which is being marketed as a "family comedy"(in spite of the MPAA's PG-13 rating), and root for Junior Healy. But I didn't. I did not see him as an innocent child, but as a destructive, vengeful monster. Adults will groan in despair.
Larraine Newman has an over-the-top role as LaWanda Dumore, who wants to marry Ben and knows of Junior's evil ways. She wants to get rid of Junior by sending him to boarding school. She is a bitch on heels. Her sole purpose in this movie is to create a villain in the tradition of Cruela De Vil.
The only person who manages to steal the show is Jack Warden who also returns as Ben's father.
The Problem Child series is an embarrassment to the late John Ritter and Michael Oliver. One may even ask why Oliver's parents would allow their child to play to such a nasty and vile character. And Ivyann Shawann is so annoying as Trixie, you have the feeling that she was only cast to give Junior a cohort in his trouble-making ways. I also didn't buy the preachy subplot about a big, large rock that might be able to make dreams come true.
This movie may have been funny when you were a kid, but as an adult or parent, you'll probably be sometimes shocked at what is being depicted on the screen.
It's obnoxiousness two times around.