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John Ritter, Michael Oliver, Amy Yasbeck, Gilbert Gottfried, Jack Warden ... see more see more... , Michael Richards , Peter Jurasik , Charlotte Akin , Anna Marie Allred , Adam Anderly , Robert A. Anderson , Cody Beard , Jordan Burton , Eli Cummins , Vince Davis , Justin Elledge , Eric Elterman , Ward Emling , June Foray , John William Galt , Corki Grazer , Vernon Grote , Philip Hjin , Helena Humann , Melody Jones , Danny Kamekona , Eiichi Edward Kawanbe , Colby Kline , Josef Kolb , Hugh Lampman , Ellen F. Locy , Kristen Lowman , Joshua Martin , Melissa Martin , Willie Minor , Norma Moore , John O'Connell , Kristy Lynne Patrick , Eric Poppick , Dennis Redfield , Lico Reyes , Shaun Shimoda , Garry Smith , Josh Stoppelwerth , Al Trejo , Alex Utroska , Kerry Von Erich , Jack Willis , Ed Yeager , Jessica Zucha , Dennis Dugan , Florence Schauffler , Nancy Nayor , Valerie McCaffrey , John S. Davies , Judy Jones

An adoptive parent discovers that some children are given up by their biological parents for very good reasons in this dark comedy. Ben Healy (John Ritter) is a pleasant but brow-beaten yuppie working... read more read more... for his father Big Ben (Jack Warden), a tyrannical sporting goods dealer. Ben would love to have a son, but his wife Flo (Amy Yasbeck) has been unable to conceive. Ben approaches less-than-scrupulous adoption agent Igor Peabody (Gilbert Gottfried) with his dilemma, and Igor presents Ben and Flo with a cute seven-year-old boy, Junior (Michael Oliver). However, Junior is hardly a model child; mean-spirited and incorrigible, the child leaves a path of serious destruction in his wake, and is even pen pals with Martin Beck (Michael Richards), a notorious serial killer. After the cat ends up in the hospital, the house catches on fire, and Junior displays his effective but unethical method for winning in Little League, Ben is having serious doubts about Junior when Beck escapes from jail and decides to kidnap his faithful correspondent, along with Junior's new mom. Problem Child proved to be a major box office success, spawning two sequels and a TV series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

43% liked it

54,691 ratings

Critics

7% liked it

15 critics

PG, 1 hr. 21 min.

Directed by: Dennis Dugan

Release Date: July 27, 1990

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DVD Release Date: October 19, 1999

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Stats: 1,550 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,550)

  • fb100002359227440
    May 6, 2011
    fb100002359227440
    Fun. But, the real problem is the screenplay.
  • ajv2688
    April 14, 2011
    ajv2688
    A fun filled family adventure flick. I really liked this movie when I was a kid, and it's still entertaining.
  • FilmFanatik
    February 23, 2010
    FilmFanatik
    Again, once was enough.
  • TheMachinist
    January 16, 2010
    TheMachinist
    "You mean we've been doing "it" every night, for nothing?"

    Recently, I've written less reviews. Half a year ago, more or less, I wrote almost every day. One reason why I've become less effective is because of crappy movies like 'Problem Child'.

    I watched this movie from the TV,... read more and afterwards I asked myself "Why didn't I change the channel? Did I want to hurt myself subconsciously?" I still don't have the answer to these simple questions.

    Say what you say of Gilbert Gottfried, but I actually laughed to some of his scenes. There's something about his voice and manners that have a positive effect on me. John Ritter is lame as always but the real bastard of this movie is the child actor, Michael Oliver. I'm totally against hitting children but everytime I saw his face... Fuck me sideways! Have I ever seen a more annoying or less talented child actor? No.

    And the movie got a sequel staring the same lead actors! Why in the fuck? This is one of the worst movies I've seen. The acting is lame, the "humor" nonexistent, the story boring as hell. Skip this one.
  • SirPant
    September 29, 2009
    SirPant
    Fucking awful, hate it!
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 15, 2008
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Even as a kid i already knew this sucked.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    June 30, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    Black comedy about a bad boy. I liked his antics. There was a good message about parenting, with John Ritter having unconditional love for the boy, but also some hard love. Some of the boys' pranks were funny and imaginative; I laughed at what he came up with. We wouldn't want th... read moreis sort of behaviour in reality however.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 25, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    goofy and fun family film
  • mjgildea
    November 19, 2006
    mjgildea
    Horrible and stupid. But for some reason I can't put my finger on, I really like this movie.
  • deano
    October 3, 2006
    deano
    Two thumbs down! Bored comedy of a 'little monster'.

View All Problem Child Reviews

Critic Reviews

Renee Schonfeld
November 23, 2010
Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media

Antics of a diabolical child are neither valuable nor funny. Full Review

Brian Orndorf
July 29, 2010
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

The film gets so lost in angry pranks, it forgets to provide a reason why Junior shouldn't be hung from the nearest tree...The worst movie of all time? Problem Child. Full Review

Steve Crum
October 30, 2004
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan

Grating, irritating, truly a problem movie calling itself a comedy.

Bob Ross
July 25, 2002
Bob Ross, Tampa Tribune

Child abuse

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Caryn James
August 30, 2004
Caryn James, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

July 27, 1990
Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 18, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Problem Child : Watch Free on TV

Problem Child Trivia

  • Who starred in UHF, Problem Child, and So I Married An Axe Murderer?  Answer »
  • Which Seinfeld star played the role of Martin Beck (The Bowtie Killer) in Problem Child?  Answer »
  • name the movie in wich an evil kid ruins the birthday of a girl while this song is playing (hint john ritter is in it as the dad)  Answer »
  • the name of this funny and lucky guy who share an apartment with a gorgeus blonde and a beautiful brunette he is also the dad in problem child  Answer »
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