Problem Child

"Problem Child", according to many, is a horrible film in most every way. The film is apparently not good for kids to watch because of all the evil and nasty things Junior does and it has a metascore of 27 and an IMDB score of 5.3....both of which are pretty bad. Despite all this, I somehow like the film...which would make many of my friends and family doubt my sanity. Call it a guilty pleasure!

The story is about a boy who is thoroughly rotten and spends most of the film tormenting those around him...even after he's adopted from the orphanage by a nice but incredibly naive man (John Ritter). Afterwards, the new dad ends up spending most of the movie apologizing to everyone for the atrocities the kid committed.

For me, I loved watching most of the vile and awful things Junior did...which is NOT typical, I know. The problem I had with the film was the ending. While Junior was like Charles Manson Jr. throughout the story, the schmaltzy ending simply didn't ring true in the least. You would think Junior would love traveling the country committing acts of terror with his pen pal, an escaped maniac from prison! For this reason, I give the film a 6...and had the ending been better I would have scored it higher. I know, I know....I should be ashamed of myself for liking this mostly heartless story...but I am not.

many people complain that junior gets away with everything and it is not right. if these kinds of things were going on by a real kid in real life, then there would be a problem. i have only four words for those of you who claim it should not be watched due to the example it sets for children. IT IS A MOVIE, not to mention a COMEDY, which are usually not to be taken seriously. if every movie that set a bad example for children was pulled off the shelves, we would have lost many incredible movies. i saw this movie when i was a child, and no i did not go try to do any of the things that junior did. although i was a child, i knew there would be serious consequences for acting as junior did. this is a very entertaining movie which i enjoyed very much. for those of you who who trash talk this movie because "it could be a bad example for children" you might want to get in touch with reality because there is nothing wrong with this movie.

WELL, this movie is pretty corny. The characters are weird, a little overly dramatic, and strange! When I was a kid, I watched this movie and laughed with it. Now that I am much older, I watch it and laugh AT it. The pranks Junior plays are funny, but otherwise this movie is just plain weird! Same goes for the sequel--very predictable, corny jokes and sappy ending (except the sequel's end was better.) Regardless, this is kind of a decent movie and is still enjoyable. HOWEVER, don't expect a lot of adventure and excitement!

This movie is undeniably tasteless, and toward the end it runs out of steam (one car chase too many). BUT...it's often funny, and that has always been the essential mission of a comedy. By the way, this is NOT primarily a kids' film; kids may get a few laughs out of it, but the more subversive asides ("Maybe if you keep moving your hands like that people will think you actually know what you're talking about") are really intended more for adults. (**)

Man, some people have no sense of humor. When I saw this movie as a youngin i didn't get it much. Then I saw it again a few years later and I busted a gut. If you don't want your kids to see it, don't let them. Don't ruin it for the rest of us.

Problem Child 2 was pretty funny, but Problem Child 3 (made for TV) really blew. They couldn't even get the rights to "Bad to the Bone."