When I saw this movie as a pre-teen I loved it. I have been a Rick Moranis fan from the time I was a small child because of the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise alone, and his presence has been sorely missed since his hiatus from live action films 25+ years ago.
Fortunately Moranis is planning to return in Shrunk a new rebooted sequel that will be another chapter in one of his most famous movie franchises along with Ghostbusters.
In preparing for the sorely missed actors return I decided to give this a rewatch as I remember enjoying it when I was younger, and while some of it is still funny on the whole it doesnt hold up as well as I thought.
Some people claim that because this was a huge flop it was the movie that convinced Moranis to take his long hiatus. However if you know anything about his personal life you would know that is untrue.
The first problem here is the unevenness of the script. It wants to be a silly, slapstick comedy about a bully and his victim, then tries to be a heartfelt drama about kids being bullied, and then at the end briefly turns into a Cape Fear-style thriller.
This could have been either an effective slapstick or black comedy or profound drama about bullying if they chose one of those genres but unfortunately the multiple genres they attempt dont mesh well together for a 90 minute movie.
It will probably be no surprise that Moranis' character here is essentially the same one he has played in Little Shop of Horrors, Ghostbusters or the Shrunk movies, and while most of his roles have been in that vein maybe with the exception of Spaceballs, and Strange Brew, this script could have taken more chances with his character. At times he does gain confidence that we would not expect from his character but more of that would have made a better movie and there just isnt enough of it.
I also feel Tom Arnold's casting as the bully is also another mistake. Although like many, I am not a huge fan of Arnold and he has participated in his share of bad films, giving bad performances, it's easy to forget that he is still an actor who can be good and does have talent. He demonstrated that wonderfully in True Lies.
However it seems sadly every other movie he made was badly scripted and/or directed and after a while the guy who showed us he had some talent and could act well with the right script and director soon participated in trainwrecks of films that have led him to obscurity.
Here Arnold is ok at times but, his character seems very similar to the very annoying one he played in Nine Months. Imagine that character playing a real bully and that is what you have here. Nine Months was not a good movie and neither was his performance in it so you have some idea that this one isn't much better.
I think Arnold should have stuck to action comedies after True Lies. He proved he could act well in that movie so why not do more similar films? Clearly he had his best success in that genre and could have made more good movies and gave good performances.
I think Bill Murray would have been a better choice for Arnold's part. He can play a jerk and be funny, and it would have been better suited for his comic talent rather than Arnold's.
Julianne Phillips most famous as the ex-wife of Bruce Springsteen has an interesting role as the love interest of Moranis but she disappears in the middle of the movie and her character is extremely underdeveloped and doesnt resurface until the end in which it makes no sense.
Jeffrey Tambor who was wonderful on The Larry Sanders Show and has done plenty of other good work gets one very funny scene as Moranis' eccentric nosy neighbor but he is given nothing to do. He is usually a standout as a supporting character and he is barely in this movie. What a waste of his talent.
Carol Kane shows up as Arnold's trailer trash wife, and she gives the most annoying performance in the film far more than Arnold's. Like Arnold here is an actress who has proved she is talented. Wonderful in Annie Hall, and The Princess Bride and others. Another waste of talent and a very badly directed and scripted role.
Don Knotts has an extended cameo and has a few funny lines but not enough to gain any true genuine laughs.
Curtis Armstrong (Revenge of the Nerds, Risky Business, Better off Dead) is actually pretty funny as a colleague who misunderstands Moranis but like the other characters is given very little to do. More scenes with his character could have made a funnier film.
Also written by Mark Steven Johnson who wrote Grumpy and Grumpier Old Men, and who has gone on to direct other good films since, and directed by Steve Miner who has made some good horror films as well as the very underrated Forever Young with Mel Gibson.
This is a lot of talent who collaborated on a project that gave them nothing to do and nothing to justify their capabilities and effectiveness. Johnson's script I think is mostly to blame although let's not forget he is capable of writing good films as with the Grumpy Old Men series.
Like those aforementioned films this takes place in Minnesota and tries to add in some humor about Midwestern culture. But for a funnier and far more entertaining look at Minnesota culture watch the Grumpy films or Fargo released later in 1996 shortly after this film for better films on the same geographic region.
Rick Moranis left us with only a handful of films. If you are enough of a fan of his or any of the other actors it may be worth a look to check this out but while some parts are funny and enjoyable all of the talent in this film have done things to far better utilize the best of their abilities.
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