Problem Child

1990
PG
1h 21m

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

34K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,379

1,171

John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck, and Michael Oliver in Problem Child (1990)

Dark Comedy Slapstick Comedy Family

A young boy just short of a monster is adopted by a loving man and his wacky wife. The laughs keep coming as he pushes them to the limits.A young boy just short of a monster is adopted by a loving man and his wacky wife. The laughs keep coming as he pushes them to the limits.A young boy just short of a monster is adopted by a loving man and his wacky wife. The laughs keep coming as he pushes them to the limits.

Director
- Dennis Dugan
Writers
- Scott Alexander
- Larry Karaszewski
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

34K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,379

1,171

Director
- Dennis Dugan
Writers
- Scott Alexander
- Larry Karaszewski
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Photos136

+ 129

More like this

4.9

Problem Child 2

3.4

Problem Child 3: Junior in Love

5.7

3.8

5.4

5.7

6.0

6.3

6.3

5.3

4.8

6.2

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Throughout the film, Ben reads several self-help books on parenting. Each book features a photo of the author on the back cover. The author photos are John Ritter in various costumes. This was mirrored in Problem Child 2 (1991) when Lawanda Dumore's photos of previous husbands are all Ritter in costumes.

Goofs
On the 2017 Blu-ray release of the film, following the credits role, the ratings bumper claims that the film is rated PG-13. Yet the package and the disc state the rating is PG.

Quotes
Junior: Hey, Martin! Let's go see the bearded lady.
Martin: No, I've seen too many of them in prison.

Alternate versions
When originally shown on network television, deleted scenes were added to pad out the running time and for content. The following is a list of said scenes.
1. When Ben and Flo get ready to go to church, their mean neighbor Mrs.Perkins tells them that their cat defecated in her tulips and orders Ben to clean it up. Though he objects to it, Flo reminds him that she doesn't want to be excluded from the social parties Mrs. Perkins throws.
2. Once at church, Ben confesses to the priest in the pulpit that he and Flo want to have a child, so the minister tells him that the St. Brutus Orphanage has an adoption service and has recommended him, but Ben tells him that Flo won't accept anyone else's child, causing the priest to disgustedly end their session.
3. An extended dialogue scene at Mr. Peabody's adoption office has him, Ben and Flo arguing about how their child should look.
4. A scene of Junior talking to the Mother Superior as he is packing.
5. During Martin Beck's psychological examination (once the doctor has escorted the warden out of the room), he has a flashback about how he thinks he was blamed for a crime that somebody else did and is shown in his prison cell listening to the chaplain's final words to him, as well as a guard giving Martin a yellow bow tie-shaped cake. He is then shown walking to the electric chair, but manages to force the warden into it.
6. A short dialogue scene has Roy and his family loading up their Jeep for the camping trip with Roy telling Ben to hurry up.
7. Ben goes out to the porch to tell Junior that he is laying down the law for his bad behavior until he notices a picture Junior painted consisting of Ben knocking out Roy with the frying pan. Junior protests that he is only pretending to be his friend and that no one cares about him but himself. Ben then reminds him that he's not alone anymore and that he has got a friend(Ben) to talk to. He then gets his foot caught in the paint-filled cake pan as Junior starts laughing hysterically.
8. A long sequence has Junior terrorizing the milkman and the paperboy with a remote-controlled airplane, with Ben ending up getting the brunt of the abuse.
9. After Ben looks at the picture Junior made for him, Martin calls Ben and tells him he has a half-hour to come up with $100,000 for the ransom, as a way to see Junior and Flo again, followed by Martin telling Junior he's not planning to hurt Ben once he arrives with the money.
10. When Ben races through the circus to deliver the ransom money. A little girl asks Mother Superior, who obviously took the children on a field trip there, if that was the man who adopted Junior. When the nun notices Ben pushing and knocking people out of the way, Mother Superior replies, "Darn,that kid works fast!"
11. A scene where the bearded lady tells Martin he called her his little kumquat.

Connections
Featured in The Beach Boys: Problem Child (1990)

Soundtracks
Bad to the Bone
Written and Performed by George Thorogood
Courtesy of Capitol Records
By arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User reviews133

Review

Featured review

Saved by a prune! What's the problem??

I have noticed this movie being offered on video and cable TV for years now, but have only now gotten around to seeing it. And you know what? I actually liked it!!

I thought it was well-crafted from a movie-making standpoint: it moved at a rapid pace, never bogged down, it had excellent cinematography, vibrant use of colors, somewhat multi-layered plot, good background music, etc. So, yes, from a movie *craft* standpoint, I felt it was indeed a good film.

I thought everyone acted their parts exactly as I would have expected - everyone was either slightly (or extremely) over the top, with the Problem Child himself being so extreme he was almost cartoonish. And really, everything in this movie was meant to be an exaggeration anyway. Examples: I liked the way Mrs. Healy was constantly equating having a kid as being little more than a sort of magic ticket to a higher social status in the local neighborhood. I really liked Gilbert Gottfried's character, demurely informing the hapless parents (John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck) that Junior had been returned 30 times before THEY got ahold of him. And I liked Michael Richards, as the Bow Tie Killer (hadn't been with a woman in 15 years!), puttin' the move on the frustrated Mrs. Healy, and she was all over him!. (By the way, forget the kid - Amy Yasbeck was reason enough to see this movie (loved her hair!). I'd see it again just to drool over her!!)

Anyway, I think you have to approach the movie for what it is: a spoof and a lampoon of sorts. In that light, I found that it came across as a very clever, slightly (and slyly) cynical, spoof on parenting and child-raising.

So what's the big deal? It WAS a good movie, pretty funny too. Let's all let our hair down for a change, get in touch with our inner naughty eight-year-old, and maybe have some fun with this kind of silly humor once in awhile. (And boy, if you ever adopt a child, make sure the kid comes with a 30-day money back return policy!:)