Problem Child

 Problem Child (1990)

Runtime: 81 minutes

Directed by: Dennis Dugan

Starring: John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck, Michael Oliver, Jack Warden, Michael Richards

From: Universal

In 2022, I am amazed that this was a hit 32 years ago. Yes, when I was a little kid this movie was watched by me; at the time I preferred the first sequel but Lord only knows what my opinion would be now as an adult. This revisit actually happened Wednesday night (along with the picture I last reviewed, The World Moves On) so there was no rush on Thursday right before it left Tubi.

With adult eyes, what a peculiar movie. A 7 year old boy only known as Junior does some vicious s*** yet you can’t exactly say he’s evil or Satan as he actually does want parents to love him no matter how much devastation he leaves in his wake. Poor sap John Ritter (a milquetoast dork who has an A-hole father and vapid wife) decides to adopt him as his wife is infertile; that is rather odd to see such a serious adult topic presented here… although it’s normal in comparison to how Junior decides that the SERIAL KILLER he sees on TV is a cool dude (because Junior misunderstood the killer’s pleas of innocence) so he becomes his pen pal. No comment on how that role was played by Michael Richards years before that infamous night in the comedy club…

The movie is quite weird, no doubt about it. The plot is rather dark and most of the characters are pretty miserable people; it’s probably what you wouldn’t expect from a PG rated movie ostensibly designed for family viewing. A jerk kid is hit in the nuts w/ a baseball bat during a Little League game, a pig’s nutsack is seen during the conclusion (don’t ask), the late Gilbert Gottfried plays the exact sort of obnoxious character you’d expect him to, Junior “driving” a Daihatsu Charade (that was a Japanese brand briefly in the United States; the Charade is what would be called now a sub-compact coupe), and both sides of politics being skewered. While it certainly looked like Problem Child was dissing the sort of “liberal wuss” that Ritter was portraying, his right wing father was also bashed for being a hypocrite that sold out to the Japanese for a quick buck. 

As peculiar as it all was, I can’t say I didn’t sometimes laugh at all the slapstick and oddball moments. I’ll say it was OK overall and it was nice to see various actors I have fond memories of (Ritter) or ones I haven’t seen in ages (Amy Yasbeck, Jack Warden). Honestly, the biggest sin is that this started the directorial career of Dennis Dugan, the “auteur” who has given us such “masterpieces” as the Grown Ups movies, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan & Jack and Jill. One thing I did not remember: THE BEACH BOYS provided the title song that played during the end credits. Good Vibrations it wasn’t—heck, it wasn’t even Surfin’ Safari or one of their other earliest tunes that was more in tune w/ their beach theming.