Review by: Mahzan Mahbob
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Russ Duritz is a successful image consultant who, throughout
his years, has learned to shut off the entire world. His work
means everything to him; he spends little time with his
family, and because of his attitude, his has so few friends.
With all the stress from his work and his life in general, it
appears as though he's about due for a major break-down. One
night, however, he is given the privilege of meeting himself
at the age of eight. Russ thinks this is nothing more than an
illusion caused by the stress. But after he's tried everything
to remove his illusion, and it still remains intact, Russ sees
there is a definite problem.
After both his secretary and
his co-worker Amy see the child, Russ now knows this is no
illusion. When his younger duplicate realizes, at the age of
forty, he is neither married, owns a dog, nor is he a pilot,
he takes matters into his own hands to try to do what ever he
can to correct his life; stopping himself from growing up to
be a loser. Little Russ tries to bring romance to his older
self, creating more passionate situations with Amy; but he is
still too professional. When you have a miniature of yourself
running wild, it's hard to continue your professional life, as
the older Russ finds out. Now, the big Russ realizes that the
only way to send back his younger copy and return his life to
normal is to correct what has happened in the past.
Bruce Willis is developing a
nice little sideline, co-starring with children in films with
supernatural elements. After "The Sixth Sense" in
the summer of 1999, here is "Disney's The Kid,"
which is not really a kid's movie but aimed more or less at "The
Sixth Sense" audience. It's a sweet film,
unexpectedly involving, and shows again that Willis, so easily
identified with action movies, is gifted in the areas of
comedy and pathos. This is a cornball plot and he lends it
credibility just by being in it.
The movie was directed by Jon
Turtletaub ("While You Were Sleeping") and written
by Audrey Wells ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs"),
and has that nice mixture of sentiment and comedy that both of
those movies found. I like the the little Russ' attitude as he
confronts the full horror of growing up. At one point,
quizzing the elder Russ about his life, he discovers that Russ
doesn't even have a dog. "No dog? I grow up to be a guy
with no dog?"
And through it all, Bruce
Willis deserves full props. I can think of few huge Hollywood
stars so carefree and not self-conscious about trying
different genres, win or lose. As it turns out, this father of
three has a valuable talent for not cloying interaction with
child co-stars. The same unpatronizing respect he showed in
"The Sixth Sense" - gallantly ceding the spotlight
to Haley Joel Osment - is likewise palpable in his relaxed
work with child actor Spencer Breslin. Willis makes Russ a
believable schmuck who's rotten to little Russ, but never at
Breslin's expense.
The movie reveals more
supernatural dimensions as it goes along. At first it appears
to simply be about a visit from Russ's childhood self. Then,
through shadowy mechanisms, the boy and man are able to
revisit and even revise scenes from the past, and particularly
a crucial playground fight involving a bully and a scheme to
tie firecrackers around the neck of a three-legged dog named
Tripod. Above all, stars Bruce Willis and Spencer Breslin turn
in winning, relatively unpretentious work that helps
immeasurably in transforming what might have been pure hokum
into a sugary-sweet, diversionary treat. And it's difficult to
argue with the appeal of the film's premise: It would be
fascinating to come face-to-face with a child version of one's
adult self, even if the encounter were to dredge up painful,
long-forgotten memories.
"The Kid" is
warm-hearted and affectionate, a sweet little parable that
involves a man and a boy who help each other become a better
boy, and a better man (there are parallels of course with "Frequency").
I smiled a lot, laughed a few times, left feeling good about
the movie.
Funny one-liners and jokes keep
the movie moving and the acting is well done. Has Russ's life
been forever doomed by his younger self, or could this be his
big second chance?
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If
you had the chance to meet yourself as an 8-year-old child,
would that kid be happy with who you turned out to be? In Russ
Duritz's case, the answer is a resounding "No!" Russ
somehow finds his life as a successful "image
consultant" turned upside down when he magically meets
Rusty-himself as an 8-year-old child. Rusty is a sweet, but
slightly geeky, pudgy little kid who is not at all happy with
who he turns out to be --a 40-year-old "loser"
without a wife or a dog. Ironically, the kid helps Russ to
learn about himself and remember his dreams, in order to
become the grown-up he wants to be
