Directed By:Dennis Dugan
Written By:Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Problem Child
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
27
User score
Mixed or Average
5.7
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Unfavorable
27
8% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
42% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
50% Negative
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
63
Dugan has a brisk, imaginative comic style; he sets up his gags well, so that there's still some surprise in the punch lines when they come.
50
Problem Child has moments, or perhaps instants, of misanthropic satire. There also are stroboscopically brief flashes of psychological irony or cleverness. [30 July 1990, p.D8]
User score
Mixed or Average
5.7
46% Positive
16 Ratings
16 Ratings
23% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
31% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
Apr 26, 2023
10
I just love this movie!
Problem Child may get hammered by critics for being too infantile but I can watch it over and over without getting tired. I can't say that about most Oscar winning movies. Problem Child introduced the excellent John Ritter to Amy Yasbeck. This movie brought them together in real life. I love John Ritter and now that he is gone, the movie is more sentimental to remind us what is lost forever. Of course, Problem Child has a great cast besides Ritter and Yasbeck, like Jack Warden as Ritter's father and of course the devilish Michael Oliver as Junior getting into all sorts of trouble. Not to mention Gilbert Gottfried as the adoption agent and Seinfeld's Michael Richards before he became known as Kramer as the serial killer pen pal of Junior's. I mean it is silly but I appreciate it at the end of a long day. Of course, it's funny and it reminds us what John Ritter meant to the world of comedy
Dec 27, 2014
6
Problem Child is an outrageous funny 90's family-fun comedy. Micheal Oliver a crude,funny,vulgar boy giving a performance that'll give the adults and teens chuckles and laughs. And this movie is Adam Sandler's director Dennis Dugan (Happy Gilmore), directorial debut. Dugan is one of America's worst comedy directors he is so detached to comedy instead of what a director should do hire good actors, making your visions come true! Dugan does the opposite **** film into a bad one. Grade C+
50
Every time Problem Child gets an interesting edge, it loses it.
25
But Problem Child's biggest problem is its young star, 8-year-old Michael Oliver. You tend to take such natural child actors as Dick Tracy's Charlie Korsmo for granted until one comes along who should be delivering newspapers instead of movie lines. [30 July 1990]
25
There are jokes in this story of a 7-year-old adoptee from Heck, but most of them are funny despite the clumsiness of their telling. The rest aren't funny at all. [1 Aug 1990, p.D7]
16
With jokes this lame you won't have to worry as much about your children getting any bad ideas.
0
The film marks an atrocious bigscreen debut for actor and episodic TV director Dennis Dugan.
Aug 10, 2024
2
Even when I was a child, this movie was an arduous task. The whole movie is a test of patience. The plot is a constant "this person wronged Junior so Junior gets revenge. If you want a movie where every character is a jerk, then this is your movie.
Feb 5, 2016
2
Problem Child's unlovable and mean. Also terrible and unfunny.... Problem Child's biggest problem is the many immaturity this child's up to. This movie's not even comedy.
