THE KID
Rated PG - Running Time: 1:44 - Released 7/7/00
In between his recent tough-guy action films like Armageddon,
The Siege, and The
Whole Nine Yards, Bruce Willis has begun appearing in
movies where his co-stars have been pre-pubescent. Although his
role opposite Miko Hughes in Mercury
Rising differed little from the action hero persona he
has established ever since his Die Hard films, his part
in The Sixth Sense, opposite
Oscar-nominated Haley Joel Osment, and subsequent fatherly role
in The Story Of Us were far
kinder and gentler than we're used to. Willis now completes the
feel-good journey with Disney's The Kid, a whimsical Scrooge-type
story directed by Jon Turteltaub (Instinct)
and co-starring 8-year-old Spencer Breslin in his cinematic debut.
Written by Audrey Wells (George Of The Jungle), The
Kid is intended to please children but also educate adults
about the dangers of losing touch with one's inner child. Much
like its characters, the film starts out with an adolescent air,
but matures somewhat by the final reel.
Willis plays Russell Duritz, a crochety, 40-year-old "image
consultant" (a person who tells stars and politicians how
to behave) with a rather dim view of humanity in general, who,
by some sort of supernatural occurrence that is not delved into,
is visited by an eight-year-old version of himself. The kid (Breslin),
a clumsy, obnoxious brat with a lateral lisp and a weight problem,
immediately begins lambasting his older self about his failure
to have a family, or a dog, or a more respectable occupation,
like, say, a pilot, which has always been his own first choice.
Russ, who does not remember a single day of his childhood because
of some deep, dark secret, thinks he is delusional, but eventually
grows to appreciate the reason for "Rusty's" arrival.
He must recover his lost memory and find the turning point which
changed him into the nasty person he has become. Then, if he can
alter the course of history, Rusty will return to his own time
and Russ can enjoy the life of a happy, dog-owning pilot and family
man. Or whatever.
Every Scrooge must have a Crachit, and Russ has his in the
person of his too-nice-to-be-working-for-him secretary, Janet
(Lily Tomlin). Also present is his assistant, Amy (Emily Mortimer),
whose role is not really clear other than being his romantic interest
later in the film. Lastly, Jean Smart makes an appearance as a
newswoman Russ helped out a few years ago, who resurfaces to become
the catalyst for his change.
This is obviously a blowoff role for Willis; apart from a few frantic scenes where he thinks he's crazy, he appears to be reading lines in his sleep. But that's because he knows the real star of the film is Breslin, who is supposed to be cute but is mostly just annoying. There are a few good lines, however (like when Tomlin says, "How's Mini-You?"), and the staggeringly predictable climax provides the guilty emotional pleasure that is a prerequisite in every Disney film. ***