Ein Satansbraten kommt selten Allein

It's funny how for a series that take such ironic stabs on the American way of life, "Problem Child" can seem rather conservative in its advocation of family values. In the first film, it took the whole movie to set the relationship between Junior (Michael Oliver) and his father Ben (John Ritter) and in the sequel, all naturally, what is left is to find a good mother. You might think that a film like that wouldn't be busy praising family values but it surely does, though in a twisted way. But if you expect the same good-heartedness than the first, you've got another thing coming.

"Problem Child 2", directed this time by Bryan Levant, has all the characters clearly established, there's the bad kid, his good father Ben, and there's Big ben the big bad grandfather (Jack Warden). After his marriage fiasco, Ben decides to take a new start in his life and moves on to Mortville, known as the Mecca for divorced people and new celibates. Ben's goal is to find a good mother for Junior, one who'd have the perfect iron fist in a velvet glove, or with enough perspective to minimize Junior's level of nuisance. This is also where Junior finds his match in Trixie, a pint-sized girl as equally mischevious as he is and the one who doesn't want to be messed with.

Naturally, the film turns into a war of the titans between the two pranksters and the pranks escalate from the kind of Bart Simpson-like malicious tricks to the level of sadism that made me feel guilty from laughing at them. Interestingly, the film never sugarcoats its material and takes the most outrageous gags to their extreme, when Junior is asked to fill a lemonade jug from two annoying twins, it doesn't take a master's degree to figure what goes on behind that smile, but the outcome of the gag is actually funnier than the one from "Dumb and Dumber" (you know, with the cop), a same gag occurs with a cherry bomb put in Junior's hand and being flushed away to the near toilet, freshly occupied by Junior's teacher (the Strickland actor), a lesser movie would have made the explosion the punchline, but not that one, and we even get a bonus gag later where we see the teacher wearing diapers the size of pillows in the school convention.

The film finds the right angle by overplaying the gag to the extreme and giving them a cartoonish à la Simpson way, (the main bully looks like a live-action Nelson Muntz), as if it existed in a parallel universe where explosions can make a man skyrocket and land on water, when electrocution can transform you into a crossover of Morticia Addams and Alice Cooper, where a dog can be turned into a statue and leave defecations twice his size and when the rabies virus looks like something borrowed from a cheap cartoon... and last, but not least when Trixie's mother is played by Amy Yasbeck, Ritter's wife, who played the wife in the first film.

It's ridiculous but that's why it ironically works, it asks us not to take the film seriously in case some twisted mind actually thought a kid could do one tenth what Junior and Trixie die and get away with it. The cartoonish way the pranks play leave more latitude to the viewers and we start enjoying the film for no other reason than its bizarre silliness, and the enduring chemistry between Ben and Junior and perhaps Laraine Newman's rendition as a Cruella-like figure named Lawanda Dumore, the woman who can see through Junior and for some reason, decided to make Ben her husband.

It's all played for laughs, the film isn't as efficient as the first, but I guess for kids who aren't too grossed out by vulgar humor, it'll go. Far before the Sandlot and after "Stand By me", we have the vomit scene that made us crack a lot as kids and even know it kinds of take a few chuckles from me, but I reckon I had to turn my eyes when the cockroaches salad started. I just hate cockroaches.

Now, is the film as good as the original? It doesn't matter, it's notable that this is one of John Ritter's most known roles and that if it wasn't for his gentleness and the way it irradiates on his child's behavior, the film wouldn't have aged as well.

And I still enjoying it with my a great deal of nostalgic indulence... see, in 1991, we had two film using of the "Bad to the Bone" riff, "Terminator 2" and "Problem Child 2". If you were a child in the early 90s, that was one tune you couldn't miss.

Watch it for what it is; an entertaining sequel about a problem child who meets his perfect sidekick.

The movie continues the misadventures of Junior Healy and how his stepfather, Ben Healy deals with him and his horrible attitude. But this time Junior is not alone; because his new cute female friend Trixie comes to his aid in order to stop Ben to marry Lawanda Dumore, a total witch. Join Junior, Trixie, Ben, 'Big Ben', and of course, Mr. Peabody in this entertaining and sometimes kitschy comedy.

I had a good time watching this one when I was a kid and nowadays, I take it for what it is; an entertaining sequel with the typical American comedy characters from family movies.

John Ritter as always is great. The man was an idol. Jack Warren also delivers a fine performance; R.I.P. Excellent actor.

The problem children are also great and display a great chemistry between them.

Mr. Peabody always delivers great laughs; the man can make you laugh only with his gestures.

I will never forget the huge crap that the dog takes, the vomit on the roller-coaster, the infamous food fight, and some other hilarious scenes. Well, this is a mindless entertaining movie for children.

I question the credibility of any imdb user who calls Problem Child 2 "the worst movie ever made." Have these people ever seen The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond? Armageddon? Movies which are actually meant to be taken seriously! Very often, it seems one will deem a movie "the worst ever made" when expectations are shattered. But come on! The title says it all- Problem Child 2!! What exactly DID you expect? I have a difficult time believing that Brian Levant was expecting any type of critical acclaim, or to be taken seriously. RELAX! Deep down, we all understand that juvenile delinquency is not humorous.

Well...I shouldn't say "all." Bad kids crack me up!! I loved Problem Child 2, and recommend it to anyone watches movies to be ENTERTAINED, not just to nitpick. To involve kids with cruel pranks, toilet humor, and Jack Warden was GENIUS! Junior Healy makes Dennis the Menace look like an Olsen twin. I wouldn't want to mess with him.

Okay, I saw this movie when I was like 8 for the first time and I loved it. Now i'm 15 and I still love it! What's so awful about about it? It's about this 8-year old kid named Junior Healy, he's bad. After leaving his hometown with his foster father Ben Healy they move to Mortville. Junior has a little problem at school, this little girl is making his life a living hell. His father meets the school nurse Annie who is basically a fox. But she shows no interest. Then he meets rich woman Lawanda Dumore, who is also a fox but is a scary witch and hates Junior. Junior then finds out that the girl who is tormenting him is Annie's daughter. So he tries to fix them up. Along the way him and the girl, Trixie, become friends. Now theyre trying to get there parents together and get rid of Lawanda. I love this movie! I give it ***½ out of *****!!

First of all, I gotta say that although Junior was a Problem Child, he was a kid who needed to be loved after all he has been through. That's my opinion.

Now here are my comments. They're all about the house that Ben and Junior moved into. When Junior and his father Ben Healy move to Mortville, they get a really nice new house. The house looks so nice and it looks like a real home. And Junior gets such a cool bedroom with planets on the wall, a space shuttle bunkbed, and other great stuff. Also, the house itself was really cool because of the video arcade games, a pinball machine, and a pool table. A house like that sure would be lovely to have. But unfortunately, when Ben and Junior are gone out for a whole fun day, LaWanda Dumore, the greedy rich woman who Ben wants to marry but ends up falling out of love with her at the end, she comes to the house after Ben and Junior are gone and she changes the look of the entire house, and the house then looks really terrible and fake. Poor Junior has a bad bedroom then. It's a bedroom full of clowns, and a circus cage bed. Not a good bedroom for Junior.

Well, that's all my comments. I hope you people who love the movie find my comment helpful.