![]() One minute it's a frog in the punch bowl. Junior's hijinks are wildly inconsistent in quality and severity. The fact that they had to add the voiceover to "sell" the pranks. Even in a movie as bland and bad as this, it all comes down to the hilarious slapstick. I don't get "devil child" from him as much as "bored child actor"-and that Southern twang! OOF. Michael Oliver is straight up terrible in this movie. Then again, maybe she pegged it just right and realized it was her only shot to cash in on his swiftly setting moment in the sun. Boy did she misread the situation and her son's talent. ![]() Some trivia: did you know Oliver's mother sued Universal for more money after Problem Child 2 and lost? That seems to have effectively ended his acting career.Įrich: I read about how Oliver's mother tried to hold Universal hostage to squeeze more money out of them for the sequel. I think it's a "good" performance in that Oliver fulfills the function of the role - he's terrible - but my goodness, I had trouble with him at time in this movie, especially when he self-narrates ("Wow, he's on every channel!"). It's a sweet performance - a cherry in the arsenic.Īdam: What is there to say about Michael Oliver as Junior? OMG. He's so earnest and game for the material in this movie and the amount of goodwill we have for the situation involving him and Junior are all because of him. There are good casting choices and performances in this awful awful movie.Īdam: When I mentioned that "just about" none of the movie works, I was saving an ounce of praise for John Ritter's performance. ![]() It's actually painful watching everyone in his life actively working against him. For the first half (and final eighth) of the movie, his wide-eyed passion for family togetherness is infectious in a way Bob Saget could only dream about. The best thing about the movie, though, is John Ritter. Michael Richards is pretty believable as a serial killer. Gilbert Gottfried isn't my cup of nails on a chalkboard but he's here at his Gottfriedest. It's inexplicably full of recognizable faces. ![]() Did you dislike it as much as I did? Or did you find any redeeming qualities about Problem Child?Įrich: I don't think the movie is a complete waste. Just about everything about it is a calamity. Kurt Cobain's stand-up comedy would, of course, change all that.Īdam: This movie is so bad that I believe if it opened in this day and age it would go straight to video. Funny movies and TV were being made, but audiences seemed primed to latch onto the dumbest stuff. You can totally tell that Problem Child got tinkered with a lot because its last act is really, really dark for a children's movie.Įrich: But as you said, this was the Full House decade. That it was so successful is shocking to me, too.Īdam: It's kind of shocking to learn that this was the first screenplay from the writing team that would later go on to make Ed Wood and The People vs. The film was originally meant to be a dark comedy for adults, but ended up being a bland family film for nobody. The writers and filmmakers were convinced it was going to flop, in large part because the studio forced a ton of rewrites and changes. It opened at #3.Įrich: From what I read on a certain wiki-related pedia site, you weren't the only one shocked by the movie's success. It was the 21st highest grossing movie of 1990, making over $50M at the box office. It's kind of amazing to me that this movie was such a box office success. What made you think it was worth revisiting for a column?Īdam: A recent viewing of Fuller House made me think "Wow, comedy is a lot different than it was 20 years ago" and somehow that led me to remembering Problem Child and I was curious what it would be like to watch in 2016. I can see why a movie like this would appeal to an 8 year old. This was my first viewing-and it's all your fault. I remember seeing commercials for Problem Child when it came out but I was almost 12 so it wasn't a movie I was clamoring to see. Did you see it when it was initially released or was this your first viewing?Įrich: Apology accepted.NOT! Sorry, just getting into the early '90s spirit. ![]() I can't believe I used to like this when I was 8 years old. Adam: Ok, first off, I'm sorry for making you watch Problem Child. ![]()
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