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Problem Child

Play trailer Poster for Problem Child PG 1990 1h 21m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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0% Tomatometer 30 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Ben is a good-hearted guy who's always wanted a son of his own, but so far he and his wife have had no success. The couple adopt Junior, a redheaded hellion who quickly makes their lives miserable. Disaster follows Junior wherever he goes, from camping trips that require emergency-room visits to birthday parties that turn into Grand Guignol affairs. When Ben's incensed family tells him to get rid of the boy, he starts to wonder if they might be right.
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Problem Child

Problem Child

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Critics Consensus

Mean-spirited and hopelessly short on comic invention, Problem Child is a particularly unpleasant comedy, one that's loaded with manic scenery chewing and juvenile pranks.

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Critics Reviews

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Michael Wilmington Los Angeles Times 07/14/2014
Sound funny? The filmmakers here think so. They've jacked this loud, lame shrieker of a movie up to the highest decibels, both aural and visual, and rammed it in our faces with almost numbing aplomb. Go to Full Review Carrie Rickey Philadelphia Inquirer 05/21/2013
2/4
Some kids are born bad. Others achieve badness. And some have badness thrust upon them. The same can be said of movies. Go to Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Tribune 05/21/2013
2/4
Inside Dennis Dugan's uncertainly staged, awkwardly sentimental Problem Child is another movie fighting to get out-one that's much meaner and probably more interesting. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) 11/30/2022
Problem Child takes the theme of the mischievous child to an alarming, and sociopathic limit. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Joaquin de Luna El Pais (Spain) 03/27/2019
Terrible. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Dennis King Tulsa World 07/14/2014
1/4
It's misguided. It's not funny. And in its lame efforts to be irreverent and hip, it turns out to be just plain mean. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Glenn @Grappler Oct 19 The boy threw the cat in the grandfather's face after he heard him say some bad things about him. The grandfather fell down the stairs backwards. LOL, you have to watch the movie. It's funny because bad things happen to someone else. If this happened to you in real life I could see why you wouldn't think it wasn't so funny See more Jane L @Dreameater2018 Aug 9 Watched this one as a child. Super funny! They don’t make them like they did back then because of our soft pc culture. See more Ace C @RT14407734 Jun 25 Idk why everyone hate the movie😭 I loved it and watched it throughout my childhood See more Stephen C @bob25009 05/29/2025 The worldwide gross is $72,270,891.00 over a budget of $11,000,000.00. See more thiago s @Thiagostone 05/24/2025 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom. See more Noah G @Noahgrimes3603 05/19/2025 The Remake will be better than originals! See more Read all reviews
Problem Child

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Cast & Crew

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Dennis Dugan

Director

John Ritter

Ben

Michael Oliver

Junior

Jack Warden

Big Ben

Gilbert Gottfried

Mr. Peabody

Amy Yasbeck

Flo

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Problem Child

Problem Child (1990) Problem Child (1990) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Ben is a good-hearted guy who's always wanted a son of his own, but so far he and his wife have had no success. The couple adopt Junior, a redheaded hellion who quickly makes their lives miserable. Disaster follows Junior wherever he goes, from camping trips that require emergency-room visits to birthday parties that turn into Grand Guignol affairs. When Ben's incensed family tells him to get rid of the boy, he starts to wonder if they might be right.
Director
Dennis Dugan
Producer
Robert Simonds
Screenwriter
Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Production Co
Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
Rating
PG
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 11, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$53.5M
Runtime
1h 21m
Sound Mix
Surround