Disney's The Kid

If you haven't figured out from some of the posts on this blog, my parents were suckers for anything Disney when I was a kid. So much, that I remember these random movies that nobody else remembers that were outside the mainstream Disney lineup but still had this distinct impact on me. The Kid is one of those movies. 

The weird thing is, you can't find this movie unless you search Disney's The Kid. Its something that kind of bothers me because when I was growing up and saw this movie, I always knew this movie as The Kid, not Disney's The Kid. That's a stupid title so, for the sake of you guys going out to search this movie, I'm putting Disney's The Kid on the title but for the rest of the review, I will refer to this movie as the name it is suppose to be called, just simply, The Kid. 

The Kid stars Bruce Willis as Russ Duritz. Russ is a no nonsense image consultant and the big part of

the first act is establishing that he is an jerk. Now, when I say jerk, I mean Disney jerk. He's almost a little bit cartoonish on how he's a jerk because its not really prompted by anything, he's just a jerk. Now as a kid, this was very apparent to me, Russ was just a jerk. Now of course because he's the protagonist, he has a good side waiting to get out and you want to see that good side come out so that's why you root for him even though he's a jerk.

But as an adult, maybe its because I've become just as cynical as this character is, but I don't see him as much of a jerk as an antisocial person. Obviously there's the jerk moves that he pulls towards his family and the people he cares about, but in the first 5 minutes of the movie, they have him going around to about 3 or 4 people being a jerk to establish he's a jerk... but most of the incidents where he's a jerk, he's just busy. Again, he's the Disney Jerk, he's not going around kicking puppies, he's just busy.

But anyways, Russ is about to turn 40. He's got a dad he doesn't talk to (played by Daniel Von Bargen) a co-worker/ girlfriend? that he's a jerk to (played by Emily Mortimer) and a secretary who he's a jerk to as well (played by Jane Tomlin)

Then one day, Russ starts seeing a kid around his property and he thinks he's going insane. And there's a theory to suggest that maybe he is... but we'll get to that in a little bit. Eventually he meets this kid and realizes that this kid is him, 30 years younger.

Younger Russ (or Rusty) is played by Spencer Breslin and the amazing thing is, this kid is the same age as me. I remember him being the biggest thing in a lot of movies for a long time. He was kind of the fat pudgy kid in a lot of movies and hell he did a good job. He's kind of one of those child actors that had a really good career at a young age then kind of fell off the map. Apparently he's in an alternative rock band now... Not totally relevant to the review, just funny.

But anyways, these two do not hit it off well as Rusty is not happy with how he turned out as an adult, saying that Russ is a dogless, chickless, loser with a twitch. And Russ doesn't exactly like Rusty because he's a reminder of what a fat tweeb he used to be as a kid... because he is exactly the fat tweeb Russ used to be as a kid.

While the plot of the movie is mainly Russ trying to figure out a way to get Rusty back to his time, the majority of this movie is just these two getting into funny scenarios where they act similar because they are the same person.

 And it is a pretty funny situation. I mean John McClane is just palling around with a younger version of himself. This was a time when Bruce Willis wasn't checked out of all his movies and he actually gave a shit. And it shows because the guy is a talented actor. As silly of a premise this is and it has a couple of problems with the script, Bruce Willis sells it the entire time.

And Spencer Breslin is really hilarious in this movie. If there was anything written perfectly in this movie, it was Rusty. You really fall in love with this kid from the very beginning and he's paired perfectly with Bruce Willis who, while a Disney jerk, is an anti-social jerk who needs to learn to care from this pudgy little kid. Its really a great set up and the pay off is really good.

Now I feel like a little bit of this review is me being a little bit bias because I'm not gonna lie, this movie hit an incredible nostaglic tone with me. So much that I cried at the climax of this film a little bit more than I think I have in a long time. While this movie is a comedy first and foremost, this was really one of the first movies that I ever saw that was a comedy with a lot of heart in it and a little bit of tragedy thrown into the mix.

See Russ spends the entire movie refusing to acknowledge a lot of his past. For one reason or another, he can't remember his past and he wants to keep it buried. But Rusty is definitely a sign that he needs to accept something in his past and its done well. Now, trying to be as objective as I can be, I think the big reveal at the end probably could have been developed a little bit more, but the reason it works is because it means something to Russ and Rusty, who you really do come to love by the end of the movie.

Yeah its a little bit of that Disney schmaltz and maybe I was just in a very vulnerable mood, but this movie really hit a chord with me.

And the funny part was, I went into this movie thinking I was going to be disappointed. I hadn't seen this movie for about ten years and I thought it wasn't going to live up to what I remember...

But it really does.

Again, this is probably a lot of the nostalgia talking, but The Kid manages to pull a great performance out of Bruce Willis, even in a cheesy script. Its a great performance by a child actor in Spencer Breslin and the rest of the movie is either pretty silly and fun, or incredibly heartfelt.

Now watching this movie in 2015 is kind of funny because this is just the first of two outings Bruce Willis has had where he's actually fought a younger version of himself.

I guess Looper closed all the questions we had about Bruce Willis from childhood all the way to the way he is now so its definitely worth mentioning the funny situation this movie provides 15 years later.

Again, not really related to the review of the movie, just something funny and worth noticing. These movies aren't connected, but it would be funny if they were.

Speaking of time travel though. Its made pretty clear that Rusty is not a figment of Russ's imagination. While I could argue that is the case in Rocky Balboa when it comes to Pauley, there's no way to argue that in this movie as everyone can see this kid that Bruce Willis is just hanging out with. (It was 2000, it wasn't weird yet).

But if you thought Looper really breezed past any explanation of how people are able to time travel, this movie doesn't even have any explanation. I mean I know its for Bruce Willis to come to terms with his past and who he is as a person, but there is not explanation as to how Rusty gets to the future... or how (spoilers) they get back to the 60s near the end of the movie... or how Russ gets back.

But anyways, the other things worth talking about when it comes to this movie is Emily Mortimer.

Can we just say out right that not only is Emily Mortimer just down right gorgeous, she also is a pretty talented actress. Even if she's involved in a cheesy Disney throw away like this movie, she still gives it her all. I've watched a lot of The Newsroom and she just continues to nail it in that and she brings it in this movie as well.

The problem is, Mortimer's character Amy doesn't really do a lot for the plot. She's just kind of the stand in love interest for Bruce Willis.

And the throw away conflict they create between those two is really overly complicated and something that I don't think a lot of kids would get (hell I didn't really get it as a kid), and as an adult, I noticed its blown through very quickly just to get her out of the way for the third act.

The point is, a lot of this movie is focused more on Willis and Breslin and once Mortimer served her purpose, they needed to give her an exit.

Overall, I think The Kid is an incredibly underrated movie. You've got a great performance from Bruce Willis where he actually gives a damn. You have a good performance by a child actor in Spencer Breslin. You have Emily Mortimer... well being Emily Mortimer even though her character isn't exactly written well, and you have a story that while I think might go over some kids heads, its cheesy and schmaltzy enough that you might have a good time with it.

I love this movie because of the amount of nostalgia that rests within it. I grew up with this movie and I'll admit it, I cried at the end.

If you're looking for a cheesy fun Disney movie, The Kid is one that I don't think a lot of people have heard of but it really will give you a fun ride.

There is a theory I want to write about but it gives away a lot of the movie and I thought I'd leave that for a mini post after this main review.

But that's what I think of the movie. What do you think? Comment and Discuss below. You can also send me your thoughts on Twitter @cmaugen24 as well as send me your requests for future movies I should review. If you follow me on Twitter you can get updates on future movie news and reviews as well as live tweets sometimes from movies I'm watching and just want to comment on before the actual review.

I'll leave you with this. I know this movie came out in 2000 but it definitely has a trailer that was made in the 90s. If you thought the movie was cheesy, check this out. Enjoy!