L'héritier à quatre pattes

"Walk Like A Man" has a special place in my heart, but not because it's a great (or even good, really) piece of cinema. It's just one of those films that you grow up seeing on HBO as a child every afternoon and, to a fat kid that didn't get out much, that's great entertainment. It's silly, sappy and, like most proper 80's flicks, would probably only be about 45 minutes long if you took out all of the "musical montages". I am not even going to bother with a plot summary-you wouldn't be reading this if you have not already seen the film. But I will say this: while watching it again recently as an adult who has graduated to the more sophisticated likes of Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman, I was shocked by how much I still enjoyed it! The cast is very funny and entertaining and they gamely tackle the silly material they are given. I especially liked the underrated Christopher Lloyd as the evil older brother and Colleen Camp as his lush of a wife. I don't know, maybe it's just the connotation of the film and the fond childhood memories of watching it that come with it, but continental tastes be damned-I like this lousy little film!

man......this was one of those movies I watched like everyday when i was a kid! its great movie, that never gets old! I come on here to look at the reveiew and guess what ?? there is only one review.......geez I'd think that since this is such a good movie and considering it was made in 1987 when i was 6 by the way, that it would have more reviews...........there lots of funny scenes in this movie too! so go watch it, and come back here and review it for freddy krueger's Sake! hehehe

Most movie goers who have bothered to rate this, express their chronic dislike of this work due to Howie Mandell's presence herein; however, I must say that he is no more a harbinger of death to this film than anyone else.

The performances found within this film are all adequate, with some better than others, but none were lacking such as to lessen the worth of this production. The dialog delivery was also adequate, but the dialog itself was trite, contrived, and slapstick in its execution. Mandell suffers more from poor direction than a lack of talent. Yes, he was an annoying element of his hey day, but he never outright bombed until this work. Christopher Lloyd is better than adequate, but his usual curmudgeonly charm is lost here. Cloris Leachman's performance is the only contributing factor which elevates this work, but she could not save it, alone.

The story had a good basis which could have netted a great film, but the National Lampoonesque take on the whole premise is the leading contributing factor to this film's demise. The story was watered down and sentimentalized to the point of generating schlock instead of entertainment. There isn't one aspect herein which isn't contrived to suit the story line, including the domestication of the lead character and the time line wherein said domestication takes place.

A young boy is abandoned by his bratling brother and left alone in the wilderness to be raised by wolves. After his rescue, his brother (still a brat) decides Bobo must learn to read and write...immediately! Intrigue ensues.

Had this been treated with more care and a bit more seriously in the right places, this could have been a great comedy, but as is, this one fails on all levels: It does not teach, it does not ponder, and it does not entertain. As it stands, this work does show some serious moments, but they are in the wrong places; the timing is all wrong, and even those with no sense of cinematic timing can feel that the pace is out of step.

All in all? This is nothing but sentimental, contrived schlock, which fails on all levels...though it DOES have heart.

It rates a 3.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.

If you ever feel like watching a movie for just pure fun and just taking a step out of serious stuff in most movies, this is the movie you must see. The 80's cheese makes this movie so funny!

Its all about a baby boy, nicknamed Bobo, that has been banished by his older brotherinto the wilderness and then gets raised by wolves.28 years later a scientist goes into the woods to study a pack of wolves until she stumble upon the human wolf. Bringing him back to civilization, she teaches Bobo to read, talk, walk, and write his name in the favor for Bobo's mischievous brother to sign some papers to have $30,000,000 from their late father's savings into his own money instead of splitting the money down the middle. And thats where the wackiness begins. Notice the 80's story plot?

I'm not a man that is into mindless movies like Dude Where's My Car?, Bill & Ted Excellent Adventure, or Harold and Kumar Goes to White Castle for examples. But this movie, which somewhat fits into this category, makes me never get tired of watching it. It's just pure fun! 7/10

Reading over the other comments for "Walk like a man," almost every positive comment is associated with childhood memories of this film. I never saw it as a child. I just watch it recently (on TV). This is a predictable, sappy and tiresome movie, with bland slap-stick humour and simple jokes. It wouldn't surprise me if children enjoyed this movie giving rise to fond memories, but adults wont come away with anything positive.

"Walk like a man" is a comedy about a man, named Bobo (Howie Mandel), who, raised by wolves for 28 years, is found and brought back to live with his brother, Reggie (Christopher Lloyd). Bobo is trained to be more civilized by a scientist named Penny, the woman who found him, while his brother plots a method to get at Bobo's half of their father's inheritance. Bobo acts like a wolf for most of the picture and causes mayhem pretty well everywhere he goes which quickly gets boring. Bobo goes to the country club. Will he cause trouble? Bobo goes to the lawyer. Will he cause trouble? Bobo attends a dinner party. Will he cause trouble? The movie even starts to play on its own predictable routine.

There wasn't a moment in this film where I laughed. I couldn't get passed the boring routine and how everything happens for predictable laughs. Despite being a satire on "Tarzan," that lack of any laughs made the unrealistic events stand out where a good comedy should've let me look beyond them. The subplots, such as Bobo constantly ruining the neighbours cement driveway and a love story between Bobo and Penny, just aren't funny, nor touching, nor interesting. "Walk like a man" is a dull comedy worth skipping (even on TV).