After "The Sixth Sense", it seemed that if you wanted to make a film involving the supernatural and young children, Bruce Willis was your man. However, this lame Disney comedy from 2000 is very hit and miss.
Russell Duritz (Willis) is a wealthy L.A. image consultant. He does PR for various clients. He's reaching 40 but he is bad tempered and disliked by everyone, including his own secretary Janet (Lily Tomlin). He is even horrible to his father as well, who is played by Daniel von Bargen.
One night Russell finds a 7 year old kid trespassing on his property. There's something familiar about the chubby lad, whose name is Rusty (Spencer Breslin). It turns out that Russell has met his young self. The two are as confused as each other. Russell thinks he has been hallucinating. He keeps dreaming of aeroplanes and it turns out that (somewhat bizarrely) Rusty has been flying aeroplanes.
Will Russell's strange experience change his views on life? Of course it will! This is Disney!
This film could have been so much better. The script is weak and some sequences such as a squabble about an advert which Russell has with his assistant, Amy (Emily Mortimer), go on too long. In fact, I found Amy was a pointless character, even though she also provides a love interest.
Willis's comedy bad guy routine wears very thin, very quickly and some of the lines are just stupid. For instance, Amy bites her nails and Russell tells her that biting your nails "advertises insecurity". It's a pointless exchange which makes no sense. Throw in a tedious wedding and you have a pretty boring film.
I felt it would have been better if the kid knew what he was there for and I felt even with such a fantastical main plot, that some scenes in the story bore no relation to anything real or normal. The time travel bit is never really explained either, and I'm no sci-fi nerd but surely it would cause major problems if you met yourself and looked at yourself as a child? I've seen other films and shows where this was seen as something to avoid or maybe I take these sci-fi rules too seriously...
Overall, this is a very average film. There are no big laughs. It feels like it could be some 1970s movie starring Chevy Chase; that's the sort of vein it's in. As for the music, it's too often and it's too loud.
I have no idea how much this video or DVD costs, but I'm guessing it's bargain basement stuff. From the director of "Cool Runnings", this was a disappointment.
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Christopher Ettridge, Victor McGuire, Emma Amos, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Elizabeth Carling
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Loved the title - very amusing. I don't think the film would appeal to me anyway, but your review would suggest I should give it a miss. Cheers. Christina ;-) x
In Disney'sThe KidBruce Willis takes a holiday from his tough-guy roles to play Russ ... more
Duritz, a grouchy PR consultant who has lost touch with his inner child and spends his days bullying his secretary and being mean to his sweet-tempered girlfriend (Emi...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
International superstar Bruce Willis (The Whole Nine Yards, The Sixth Sense), along with ... more
Lily Tomlin (9 To 5, Tea With Mussolini), Emily Mortimer (Scream 3, Notting Hill) and newcomer Spencer Breslin star in the hilarious and heartwarming comedy Disney...
In Disney'sThe KidBruce Willis takes a holiday from his tough-guy roles to play Russ ... more
Duritz, a grouchy PR consultant who has lost touch with his inner child and spends his days bullying his secretary and being mean to his sweet-tempered girlfriend (Emi...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 5 to 9 days...
![The Kid [DVD] [2000]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78532744.jpg "The Kid [DVD] [2000]")
very helpful by (11%):
helpful by (89%):
