Disney's The Kid
review by Dan Lybarger, 30 June 2000
Bruce
Willis isn’t one to tamper with success. Disney’s The Kid
features the actor paired with yet another young co-star, just as he
was in the deservedly popular The Sixth Sense. The older
movie also had style, imagination and razor-sharp logic. The new
film falls short on these qualities but is sometimes entertaining in
spite of itself.
Disney’s
The Kid
works best during the opening sequences. Because of his long string
of action flicks, it’s easy to forget that Willis is a good comic
actor. Blessed with a remarkable sense of timing, Willis is
frequently amusing as Russ Duritz, an acid-tongued image consultant.
Russ can easily make crooked politicians and double-dealing
entrepreneurs look benign.
Russ
can make these scoundrels appear saintly, but he can’t do much for
himself. He’s a tyrannical boss (frequently waking employees from
well-deserved sleep) and is barely on speaking terms with his father
and sister. Despite his Herculean accomplishments and considerable
wealth, Russ is a miserable guy.
His
life gets even more aggravating when a pudgy eight-year-old boy
(Spencer Breslin) mysteriously gets past his alarm system. The lad
keeps reappearing despite everything that Russ does to shoo him
away. After watching the boy’s pronounced mannerisms, Russ
discovers that the little fellow is really the younger version of
himself. The small doppelganger starts interrupting Russ’ meetings
and constantly complains about the way his older self has turned
out. The older Russ may have a luxurious home and car, but little
Rusty finds the old Russ to be "a dogless, chickless
loser." Worse, other people can actually see little Rusty, so
he’s not a hallucination. The boy sets out to set Russ up with a
principled photographer (Emily Mortimer) and to discover a way to
make his older self happier.
The
idea of literally getting in touch with one’s inner child might
seem irritatingly sweet, but screenwriter Audrey Wells (The Truth
about Cats and Dogs and Guenivere) gives the first half
of the movie a much-needed venom. Willis appears to relish playing
such a mean-spirited hustler, and his putdowns are delightfully
scathing.
But
as the film begins to explore how little Rusty came back into
Russ’ life, Disney’s The Kid loses steam. The conclusion
feels hollow and lackluster, and Instinct’s Jon
Turtletaub’s ham-fisted direction (lots of loud swelling music)
doesn’t help. There’s also a curious oversight. Characters
constantly refer to Russ’ twitching eye, but Willis’ eyelids
don’t budge.
Because
of the inherently emotional nature of the story, Disney’s The
Kid might have been more effective with a lighter touch. As it
stands, the movie is occasionally funny but never quite reaches the
kid inside.
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