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Problem Child

Problem Child

Comedy · 1990

Ben Healy and his social climbing wife Flo adopt fun-loving seven year old Junior. But they soon discover he's a little monster as he turns a camping trip, a birthday party and even a baseball game into comic nightmares.

Movie details

Problem Child

“Attila the Hun. Ivan the Terrible. Al Capone. They were all seven once.”

1990 Comedy 1h 21m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.2 / 10

Community rating

Ben Healy and his social climbing wife Flo adopt fun-loving seven year old Junior. But they soon discover he's a little monster as he turns a camping trip, a birthday party and even a baseball game into comic nightmares.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Problem Child?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Three Stooges

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Horrible Bosses 2

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Spymate

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Problem Child 2

Problem Child 2

Comedy · 1991

Junior and his father, Ben, move from Cold River to Mortville. Junior becomes threatened by Ben's desire to date again and find a new mother for Junior, and sabotages each of his dates.

Little Big League

Little Big League

Comedy · 1994

When the owner of the Minnesota Twins passes away, he bequeaths the team to his preteen grandson. The newly minted head honcho quickly appoints himself manager, causing unrest in an organization that struggles to take orders from a 12-year-old.

Thunderstruck

Thunderstruck

Comedy · 2012

After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.

Knight and Day

Knight and Day

Action · 2010

A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Crime · 1995

Summoned from an ashram in Tibet, Ace finds himself on a perilous journey into the jungles of Africa to find Shikaka, the missing sacred animal of the friendly Wachati tribe. He must accomplish this before the wedding of the Wachati's Princess to the prince of the warrior Wachootoos. If Ace fails, the result will be a vicious tribal war.

Nuns on the Run

Nuns on the Run

Comedy · 1990

Set up by their boss to be knocked off following a final heist, soon-to-retire crooks Brian Hope and Charlie McManus get wind of their impending demise and run off with the spoils of their crime. Fleeing their boss, the drug dealers they robbed, the police, and Brian's angry girlfriend, the duo take refuge in a training convent for nuns. In disguise, they convince Sister Superior that they're nuns, a charade they're forced to maintain as their enemies arrive.

The Golden Child

The Golden Child

Action · 1986

After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child, is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa, humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Dennis Dugan

Written by

Scott Alexander · Larry Karaszewski

John Ritter

John Ritter

Ben

Jack Warden

Jack Warden

Big Ben

Michael J. Oliver

Michael J. Oliver

Junior

Gilbert Gottfried

Gilbert Gottfried

Mr. Peabody

Amy Yasbeck

Amy Yasbeck

Flo

Michael Richards

Michael Richards

Martin Beck

Peter Jurasik

Peter Jurasik

Roy

Court is in session

Put Problem Child on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.