Rent-a-Kid

I ran across this movie at the local video store during their yearly sidewalk sale. While scanning thousands of videos, hoping to find a few cartoon movies for sale, I came across this movie. I read the back of the movie and knew it was God's hand at work for me to purchase this movie. You see, I have a sibling group of three foster (and soon to be adopted) children living with my family. Immediately my foster children made a connection with the three children starring in the movie. The movie helped them better understand their own circumstances. For the first time, also, the oldest of the sibling group (7 year old/female) decided to open up to me a little bit about her past and the trauma she had experienced. She has been fighting the entire trust issue. This is also the first time I had seen her cry. After watching the film, I asked her what it meant for a child to be adopted. She replied, "It means to be happy." A must see for families who are fostering children and are considering adoption. It certainly opened the lines of communication with us.

I'm strongly considering starting a petition to introduce some kind of penalty for casting Nielsen and/or Lloyd in comedies if they are not going to be funny in the least. Suburban Commando and Mr. Magoo, I'm looking at you! But not directly, because that has proved a hazardous practice. And then there's of course this. It's not just those two, either; nothing in this is worth as much as a brief smirk or chuckle. Also wasted is Matt McCoy who you may remember from... uh... well... give me a minute... The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Yeah. That'll do. The three are given so little material to work with that their performances in this aren't particularly memorable, and yet they are by far the best of the bunch. It's no surprise that the kids are the worst. The girl is especially unconvincing. Having forgotten the concept of humor, the writer settles for coming up with a bunch of weird quirks(!), and hopes that it'll pass for character development, as well. Your suspension of disbelief will probably all be spent immediately when this actually asks you to swallow Tony Rosata being Leslie's son. So, you're not likely to buy the simplistic cookie-cut plot, there's no good acting, and the jokes and gags offer nothing to laugh at. Once you've watched one of these crappy, tired and bland family films, you've seen them all. Why bother? I recommend this solely to those who feel utterly compelled to take in each of these wretched things. 5/10

The cast was good, and I thought it was a good performance from Christopher Lloyd, whom I like from previous movies. The movie was a great family movie, nothing that would make you worry to show it to younger kids, a good story line, lots of laughs, lighthearted and enjoyable. If you want to entertain children without being bored to tears this fits the bill. Kid pleasing, and not difficult for a parent to watch, either.

Obnoxious Yuppies rent three kids to see if they will like being parents. Suspension of disbelief is required, of course, because in real life there is a shortage of non-dysfunctional kids to be adopted. The dad is a real jerk and the mom is very likeable. Good for kids.

Cliff Haber runs the Mid-Valley Children's Home, and he needs a vacation. For the 10 days prior to Thanksgiving, he turns the operation over to his father Harry, who runs a store that rents just about everything a person could need for a kitchen right down to glassware.

Harry observes that the merchandise is not moving at his son's operation. While eating in a Mexican restaurant, he overhears a couple discussing the pros and cons of adoption and gets a brilliant idea: let people try out kids for a period of time and see if they are cut out to be parents. Cliff thinks it's a stupid idea, but while he is gone, Harry does it anyway.

The Lachmans want to adopt Molly, but she wants to stay with her mischievous brothers Kyle, who wants to be a surgeon and is always practicing, and Brandon, who loves to makes up stories, often scaring his sister even though he loves her. Harry decides to let Russ and Valerie, who live in a luxury apartment building with a doorman, try out the three Ward children for 10 days. The results are pretty much what you would expect, and quite hilarious at times. Oh, yes, and the kids were promised a dog.

Some opportunities for laughs: Kyle wants to go on a field trip to a hospital. And Russ and Valerie discover a long-lost letter written by Abraham Lincoln, and Brandon is fascinated by the Civil War. I also enjoyed the scene with the fantasy couple Mr. and Mrs. Nicely, whose mansion resembled an amusement park but had one door kids were NEVER supposed to open.

Leslie Nielsen was very funny at times, though not in quite the same way as in 'Airplane!' and the 'Naked Gun' series. Some of his delivery didn't quite work for me--for example, Harry had an annoying habit of repeating things he or someone else had already said to make them sound better. But he was hilarious when he would describe the children and the transactions as if the kids were his merchandise.

Christopher Lloyd was quite good as the kindly doorman Lawrence. Tabitha Lupien may have given the movie's best performance as 5-year-old Molly, and she and Sherry Miller (as Molly's prospective Mom) were quite good together. The other kids were good too.

There was plenty of physical comedy, and nothing to concern parents. The closest this movie ever got to PG: Russ and Valerie were 'interrupted', but of course younger kids wouldn't know what they were getting ready to do in bed.

This was fluff and somewhat predictable, but it was the kind of movie I enjoy.