Problem Child 2
| Problem Child 2 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Brian Levant |
| Produced by | Robert Simonds |
| Written by |
Scott Alexander Larry Karaszewski |
| Starring |
John Ritter Michael Oliver Jack Warden Laraine Newman Amy Yasbeck Ivyann Schwan |
| Music by | David Kitay |
| Cinematography | Peter Smokler |
| Edited by |
Lois Freeman-Fox Robert P. Seppey |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $11–15 million[1] |
| Box office | $32.7 million[2] |
Problem Child 2 is the 1991 comedy film sequel to the 1990 sleeper hit Problem Child; a continuation of the exploits of Junior, an adopted orphan boy who deliberately wreaks comedic havoc everywhere he goes. In it, Amy Yasbeck portrays Annie Young, unlike the first one in which she portrayed Flo Healy, wife of Ben (John Ritter). It was produced by producer Robert Simonds, who also produced the first one. It was rated PG-13, unlike its predecessor, which was rated PG.
This second installment in the Problem Child franchise did not fare as well as its predecessor, only performing about half as well at the U.S. box office and was also beat out by another sequel film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was released on the same day.
Plot
Ben Healy and his son, Junior, move from Cold River, Illinois to Mortville, Oregon, a quiet, peaceful community, apparently as a way to start their lives all over again. After a lengthy journey, they arrive in Mortville. Just before they arrive at their new house, Junior sees a girl roller skating on the sidewalk with a balloon. He pops it with his sling shot and laughs at her as he goes by while the girl glares at him.
Ben and Junior arrive at their new house, and moments later, dozens of women line up in their front yard welcoming him to the neighborhood. Ben and Junior are also interrupted by neighbor Alan Booger who invites him over for barbecue. Junior meets his daughters Dolly and Madison who are very snobbish, and after being mocked by Alan, Junior sets the barbecue grills up high which explodes in Alan's face sending flying in the air landing in a kiddie pool charring his eyebrows in the process.
When Junior starts his first day of third grade he meets the girl from the day before, who offers to show him to the principal's office, but places a mocking message sign on his back. Junior realizes this when people laugh at him, and places the sign in the bin. To his amusement, he sees that Igor Peabody (who is also from Cold River) is the principal of his new school. Peabody panics at the sight of him, and promptly promotes him to the sixth grade.
Junior goes to Mr. Thorns class; Mr. Thorn is teaching math to bunch of students, including the school bully Murph, who has been held back for several years. Junior manages get on the bad side with Murph, who retaliates by trying to drop the school's satellite dish on Junior at the end of school, but it misses him and hits Ben instead, knocking him out.
When he comes to, he sees school nurse Annie Young (Amy Yasbeck) and becomes smitten with her. Around the same time, bank owner LaWanda DuMore, the richest lady in Mortville, takes a liking to him. Ben leaves Junior with an irresponsible babysitter as he goes on a date but Junior ruins it by calling the dates former husband telling him that she at restaurant with Ben. After a fight with Ben, the date realizes she still loves her husband and heads back home with him. Ben even drives them both home, and gets a shock when he arrives home, Junior's babysitter was having sex with her boyfriend in Ben's room, and Junior decided to use Ben's video camera and projector to show the neighborhood what the babysitter did instead of actually watching Junior. Ben is horrified, and gives Junior a lecture. The doorbell sounds, and when they open it, Ben's father 'Big Ben' is at the door. Ben questions 'Big Ben' as to why he's there, and after hesitating, 'Big Ben' admits that he's bankrupt and has nowhere to go, and Ben agrees that he can stay until he manages to sort out his problems.
Ben attempts a second date, deciding his dad isn't a pushover like most babysitters and leaves him to babysit Junior. Junior however soaks the doormat and rewires the doorbell, electrocuting the date, causing her to cancel. Big Ben says that Junior is acting out because he's paranoid that Ben may find a new wife some day, and doesn't want to share Ben, while Ben thinks that the memory of his ex-wife Flo, who hated Junior, could factor into it, and decides to stop dating and spend more time with Junior and later give dating another try.
LaWanda vows to have Ben at any cost. While Ben and Junior are gone for the day, she comes in and decorates the house to impress Ben. Ben and Junior visit a waterpark, a ball game and a carnival. The carnival trip ends in disaster, when Junior isn't able to get onto a ride (because of being too short) and is mocked by his classmates. Junior sabotages the rides speed controls, causing a massive vomiting fest all over the entire amusement park.
Ben has a heart-to-heart with Junior on the way back, saying that, even if he does date, he still loves Junior, and won't let a woman come between them. When they arrive home, they meet LaWanda, who impresses Ben, but Junior is able to see through her fake smile, and knows she's bad news. Junior then ruins the dinner she made by putting live cockroaches in the food. Afterwards, she tells him that when she is his stepmother, she will send him to boarding school in Baghdad. He tries to tell Ben that she is bad, but he doesn't believe him.
While at a school function, Ben sees the puppet show go awry and thinks Junior is to blame. He stops it but is surprised to see it was Trixie ruining it. It is also revealed that Annie is her mother. Annie rushes to take her home: Ben tries to tell her he understands what it is like raising a problem child, and thinks they can help one another. She tells him she likes him, but if they date, Trixie's behavior would only get worse. He proposes to LaWanda, believing she is the only woman who will marry him.
After Junior sabotages a blood test by switching LaWanda's blood sample with a blood sample from a rabid dog, LaWanda is rushed to hospital and undertakes more blood tests by baffled doctors, who can't find any bite marks.
By a chance meeting in a pizza restaurant, Ben, Annie, Junior, and Trixie have dinner together and have a good time, even after the food fight the kids start with Peabody and his girlfriend gets them thrown out. Junior and Trixie apologize, and decide their parents should date.
In the hospital, Junior overhears a patient in the room across from LaWanda’s, saying he wants to hold the world record for the world's longest nose. He sabotages the plastic surgery by switching the patient files, resulting in LaWanda receiving a gigantic nose in an attempt to make her so ugly that Ben will not marry her. After Junior asks Ben to go see LaWanda before the wedding, Ben declines, citing the tradition of not seeing the bride before the ceremony.
In another attempt to stop the wedding, Junior rigs a rope across the aisle in order to trip LaWanda to so that her veil falls off and Ben can see the results of Junior switching the medical files at the hospital. LaWanda stands up to reveal that she had a last-minute expensive plastic surgery. Later at the altar, Trixie crashes the wedding driving a front-end loader carrying the Love Rock. LaWanda then reveals her true selfish nature to a shocked Ben by saying openly that she hates children. Junior and Trixie's work pays off, and Ben finally realizes that Annie is the one for him.
Big Ben decides to marry (the now single) LaWanda while Junior and Trixie use explosives to splatter both of them with the wedding cake. Ben, Junior, Trixie and Annie walk away together happily while holding hands.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| John Ritter | Ben Healy |
| Michael Oliver | Junior Healy |
| Jack Warden | Big Ben Healy |
| Laraine Newman | LaWanda Dumore |
| Amy Yasbeck | Annie Young |
| Ivyann Schwan | Trixie Young |
| Gilbert Gottfried | Igor Peabody |
| Paul Willson | Smith |
| Bob Smith | Father Flanagan |
| Alan Blumenfeld | Aron Burger |
| Krystle and Tiffany Mataras | Dolly and Madison |
| Charlene Tilton | Debbie Calukinski |
| Kristen Simonds | Rhoda |
| Eric Edwards | Murph |
| James Tolkan | Mr. Thorn |
| Martha Quinn | Emily |
| Zach Grenier | Voytek |
Production
The film was filmed on location in Orlando, Florida from January to March 1991, including the-then newly opened Universal Studios Florida.
In 2014, during an interview on Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast, screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski revealed that the studio was reluctant to rehire them, only doing so because they wanted to shoot a sequel before Michael Oliver could noticeably grow and, as the writers of the first film, could produce a script quicker than writers new to the story and characters of the franchise.
Frustrated with the criticisms of the first one, they deliberately increased the poor taste in the sequel, intending to make a Pasolini or John Waters film for children, and went so far overboard that the first cut received an R rating from the MPAA, a secret kept until their 2014 appearance on the podcast. Dubbing over Junior's use of the terms Fuckface and "pussy whipped" got the film a PG-13 rating on appeal, but the studio was still so nervous that, at the last minute, they added the Woody Woodpecker cartoon "Smoked Hams" to the film's theatrical release, to reassure parents that the film was suitable for children.[3]
Reception
The film did not fare as well as the first one, earning half as much at the U.S. box-office.[1] Rotten Tomatoes reports that 7% of 27 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 2.4/10. The sites consensus read: "Crude, rude, puerile, and pointless, Problem Child 2 represents a cynical nadir in family-marketed entertainment."[4]
References
- 1 2 Haithman, Diane (1992-04-23). "'Problem Child' Part III -- The Courtroom : Movies: Universal takes film's child star to court in a bitter contract dispute over his salary for the sequel.". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
- ↑ "Problem Child 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
- ↑ http://sideshownetwork.tv/podcastsEpisode.cfm?podcastid=104&episodeID=6309
- ↑ "Problem Child 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
External links
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