Problem Child (1990, John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck, Jack Warden, Michael Oliver) – Classic Movie Review 8975

Director Dennis Dugan’s 1990 family comedy Problem Child stars John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck as Ben Healy Jr and Flo Healy, a loving husband and his wacky wife who adopt a devilish seven-year-old orphan boy (Michael Oliver) they call Junior.

And then they get a bundle of trouble – and we get a slapstick problem comedy with nary a laugh. Appealing troupers Ritter and Jack Warden (as Big Ben Healy Sr) soldier bravely on, and you soon feel quite sorry for them. Director Dugan appears as a dad.

Charmless and unamusing, it is a candidate for the worst film of 1990.

But it was a surprise huge hit and Problem Child 2 appeared quickly in 1991 with the same stars, with Problem Child 3: Junior in Love following in 1995 with different stars. Costing $10,000,000, Problem Child grossed $53,470,891 and $72,270,891.

The writers are Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.

Also in the cast are Gilbert Gottfried, Michael Richards, Peter Jurasik, Charlotte Akin, Anna Marie Allred, Adam Anderly, Vince Davis, Justin Elledge, Helena Humann and Colby Kline.

It was edited for US network television, with deleted scenes added to increase the short running time of only 81 minutes and to replace some cut content.

Problem Child is directed by Dennis Dugan, runs 81 minutes, or 93 minutes (Extended Version), is made by Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, is released by Universal, is written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, shot by Peter Lyons Collister, produced by Robert Simonds, scored by Miles Goodman and designed by George Costello.

It is followed by the animated TV series Problem Child (1993-94).

It is followed by the TV movie Problem Child (2015) with Matthew Lillard, Erinn Hayes and Jack Gore.

The real-life ginger haired Michael Oliver, born on 10 October 1981 in Los Angeles, was far from a problem child, being laid back and intelligent. He made only the two Problem Child films, and retired from acting in 1995 at 14.  A contract dispute over Problem Child 2 left his family without anything. ‘We ended up staying with friends for a while,’ recalls Oliver, ‘slowly dusted ourselves up.’

In June 2009, he was working as a music group crew member and in 2015 he was working in tech support. ‘I started to realise that I want a normal life,’ he said. ‘I work my ass off, I have a 9-5 job, a normal existence. I’m happy with it.”

He recalls working with the late John Ritter: ‘He was a sweetheart. I remember he got me a radio controlled car right after we met. He was really nice to me on the set and I think he kind of knew that I was very new to all of it.’

And if a Problem Child movie is on TV? ‘I avoid it like the plague.’

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8974

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