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Movies / On DVD / The Kid & I
The Kid & I

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The Kid & I (2005)

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Reviews Counted:26

Fresh:9

Rotten:17

Average Rating:4.6/10

Consensus: Well-intentioned but sappy, The Kid & I is a strange hybrid of comedy and cinema verite.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some language, crude humor and drug references

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Dec 2, 2005 Limited

Synopsis: An offbeat piece of real-life wish-fulfillment, THE KID & I stars Tom Arnold as Bill Williams, a down-and-out actor who, just like Arnold himself, had his greatest screen success opposite Arnold... An offbeat piece of real-life wish-fulfillment, THE KID & I stars Tom Arnold as Bill Williams, a down-and-out actor who, just like Arnold himself, had his greatest screen success opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in TRUE LIES. Just as Williams is about to kill himself, he gets the offer to write and star in an action film in which he will be teamed with hardcore TRUE LIES fan Aaron Roman (Eric Gores, Arnold's real-life neighbor), the cerebral palsy-stricken son of multimillionaire Davis Roman (Joe Mantegna). In a slightly cracked mirror version of the film's behind-the-scenes true story, Williams reluctantly agrees to the offer, only to find himself transformed by his young costar's indomitable spirit. As with reality TV, THE KID & I could almost be marketed as a documentary. Star Gore's wealthy father did commission neighbor Arnold to pen THE KID & I for his TRUE LIES-loving son, director Penelope Spheeris (WAYNE'S WORLD) appears as herself, and we even get to see some home movie footage of Gore as a child. But the result, which could have been cloying or exploitative, is an unusual family-friendly satire of Hollywood that doesn't shy away from a little darkness when necessary. Gore--who really does suffer from cerebral palsy--is a winning presence, game for anything and with sharp comic timing. And though one could go crazy trying to figure out where Bill Williams ends and Tom Arnold begins, his patented manic self-deprecation is appealing and he has a great foil in veteran character actor Richard Edson. [More]

Starring: Tom Arnold, Richard Edson, Joe Mantegna, Henry Winkler

Starring: Tom Arnold, Richard Edson, Joe Mantegna, Henry Winkler, Shannon Elizabeth, Linda Hamilton

Director: Penelope Spheeris

Director: Penelope Spheeris
Screenwriter: Tom Arnold
Composer: Damon Fox

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Oct 24, 2006

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Reviews for The Kid & I

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Tom Arnold wrote and stars in this heart-on-sleeve "comedy" that will go down in cinema history as one of the most awkward additions ever made to the genre.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
06/15/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Works most poignantly as a testament to a father's love and an unapologetic celebration of Hollywood's m.o.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/01/07
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
12/30/06
Los Angeles Daily News

Has straight-to-DVD written all over it.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
05/04/06
Matt Pais
Matt Pais
Metromix.com

Imagine if Tom Arnold had written "Adaptation." No, really.

Full Review Source: New Times | comment Comment
12/15/05
Luke Y. Thompson
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

With the exception of some weird-on-purpose flicks such as those by Jim Jarmusch and David Lynch, "The Kid & I" is arguably the weirdest movie I've seen since 1987.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
12/09/05
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
12/06/05
AV Club

The mesmerizingly awful The Kid & I is a historic first: a comedy about the making of a vanity production that is itself a vanity production.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
12/06/05
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It isn’t perfect but it is so oddly sincere that I found myself growing a sort of affection for it even as all common sense was telling me to think otherwise.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/06/05
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

It’s terribly uneven, it’s far too corny and it’s really not all that great, but it’s so strange and so compelling that you have to see it.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
12/05/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Either the most inept vanity production ever made or the most deadpan satirical prank ever pulled.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
12/02/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Manages to be cloying, insulting, and self-serving in equally dire measure.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
12/02/05
Timothy Knight
Timothy Knight
Reel.com

It would be nice to say that The Kid & I delivers a heartwarming message of perseverance while showing a lighter side of Arnold and spotlighting a new star. Unfortunately, it would not be true.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
12/02/05
Stephen Whitty
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Tom Arnold does have talent, but some self-defeating streak keeps him from using it.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
12/02/05
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What sets The Kid & I apart from most Hollywood comedies is its restraint, on the part of Arnold, both as writer and actor, as well as Spheeris. Comedy actually grows out of character and situation.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
12/02/05
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Newcomer Gores is endearing onscreen, but the film built around him is a mess: an amateurish script, a treacly score, barely there direction by Penelope Spheeris and a pointless parade of celebrity cameos.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
12/02/05
E! Online

This wan attempt at inspirational comedy doesn't bother to look closely at anything.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
12/02/05
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite a sentimental streak a mile wide and a truly worthy theme, Penelope Spheeris' The Kid & I is a truly bad film, an awkward and cringe-worthy effort.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
12/02/05
Dan Fienberg
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com

The greatest mitzvah ever produced by Hollywood... I don't care what's wrong with this thing, you couldn't pay me to badmouth it.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
12/01/05
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
About.com

A chore to watch, The Kid and I is self-congratulatory, excruciatingly sentimental and sloppily written and directed.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
12/01/05
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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