Mi encuentro conmigo

Well, Disney does it again! Here is another pleasant family movie, but with some adulthood flavor this time. Bruce Willis is surprisingly good here, Spencer Breslin is charming, but Emily Mortimer needs to brush up her acting a little bit. The dialogs are mostly funny, combined with some touching moments. See this movie, and you will find out why the moon looks orangish when it just rises...

I saw this on a plane. You know, you are strapped to a chair and forced to watch whatever garbage they put up there.

And I have to say I actually had fun. Some scenes are sugary and over the top but the kid's performance is above average for children actors. Casting was perfect.

One thing though: the music is inappropriate, heavy-handed and sometimes ruins the scenes. It is like asking Richard Wagner to write for an intimate comedy. Very weird.

But I strongly recommended the movie to my mom. It is that kind of movie.

Bruce Willis was perfect. The young actor is adorable and this movie actually makes you think about how our childhood forms our futures. I'm not going to go into detail. I just want to give my impression. The theatre I went to was packed with kids who thoroughly enjoyed it as did their parents. It's a movie that makes you feel warm all over. My other kids went to see Scary Movie and came out disgusted. I'm glad I picked this film instead.

The Kid - At 39 years old Russel Duritz has a life that most men would envy - he has a great job, is respected (and feared), has a beautiful house and makes buckets of money. But everything comes at a cost, in this case no social life, no conscience and a fear of spending the rest of his life alone. He just needs someone to show him the way.

As I watched the movie, I kept wondering why Disney didn't pass this film on to Miramax - not because it's particularly daring or edgy, but because it is clearly a movie for adults. This is exacerbated by the marketing campaign which is clearly targeting children - it is lumped in with trailers for "Rugrats the Movie", and "Pokemon 2000" (aren't they passe yet?). But I quibble.

I was impressed by the sensitive treatment of the subject matter - rather than the typical male midlife crisis that involves some pathetic sap buying a Porsche convertible and acting like a moron, Willis' character undertakes some serious introspection and takes stock of his life. His guide on this journey of self-discovery is himself at age 8 (they never explain how Rusty arrives and frankly, I didn't care). Young Rusty's innocence and unbridled optimism give him a distinct advantage in divining the truth - he sums up Russell's job as an image consultant thusly, "You teach people how to lie and pretend to be something they aren't". In order for a good script to succeed, however, you need actors to bring it to life. Not a problem here.

Although Willis has thrice ignored W.C. Fields' warnings about starring with children or animals he has lucked out once again, meshing as well comedically with Breslin as he did dramatically with Osment. Willis manages to balance Russell's cutthroat powerbroker traits with vulnerability and confusion, without becoming ridiculous. Breslin meanwhile gives a dead on portrayal of a kid from everyone's childhood - the one that always stuck out for some reason and got picked on. We also get two bonus performances: Lily Tomlin is great as Russell's levelheaded assistant and Jean Smart is perfect as an insightful charming anchorwoman (I loved her in "Guinevere").

The Kid is charming, heavy, and real. And it will appeal to adults of all ages.

I thought Disney's The Kid (using Disney to differentiate itself from the 1921 version) wasn't the best kid movie ever made, but it was definately better than I thought from the previews. It turns out this film is a version of Bruce Willis' film from last year, The Sixth Sense. The difference (and of course) is that while in the Sixth Sense looked at a kid who kept seeing dead people and only one person could help him out, this film as a man who is dead inside and only one kid could help. Still, both films deal with supernatural dealings and Bruce Willis. Sometimes funny, sometimes melodramatic, but usually OK. Not the worst, but not for all kids. B+