Film

Disney's The Kid (2000)

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

If you had a chance to meet yourself as an eight-year-old, would that kid be happy with who you turned out to be? That's the premise, according to the blurb, of this Disney's offering. How it ever got beyond the pitch is a mystery. Willis is Russ Duritz, a cynical, short-tempered but successful image consultant who's missing something in life - and doesn't even realise it. That's when the kid (Breslin) arrives: a rambunctious klutz called Rusty who wheedles himself into Russ's life. Rusty, as it happens, is Russ as a youngster, and has unwittingly tripped back in time to help Russ, er, find himself. Sentimental moments are signposted by Marc Shaiman's typically bombastic score, but there's little to touch the heart here, since Russ and Rusty's predicament is completely nonsensical. Besides, how can we root for a smug workaholic who has everything and seems happy with it? Willis alone makes it just about endurable.

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