North

Roger Ebert's apoplectic hatred for this movie is the stuff of legends - and make no mistake, it's a very, very bad film - but I've definitely seen worse. This is no "Manos, the Hands of Fate" (there's a poster quote for you).

Oh, come on, it's not THAT bad. Sure, the plot is absurd and filled with holes, until the entire movie is made entirely irrelevant by the twist, but I've seen far worse from children's movies. The characters are kind of enjoyable, and it's not really that painful. Not good, but not one of the worst movies ever.

I’ve been aware of this movie’s existence for near thirty years via Ebert’s legendary autistic meltdown about it, but just now finally actually watched it. And well, it is pretty bad - but probably not the WORST. There’s some (oft hilariously politically incorrect by 2021 standards) whimsy in North’s world journeys, but it all ends with “it was all a dream,” which is objectively the worst ending.

Considering the cast and the director's output before this, I can only assume some kind of mass hysteria took hold of everyone involved. They should have included overlaid tumbleweed as a DVD extra that could roll across the screen during one failed comedy scene after another.

A lot of hate for this movie, and I agree that it's not very good - but come on, it's perfectly watchable.

Beginning of the end for Reiner as a good filmmaker

Tacky and unfunny, relying on threadbare cliches and corny jokes. I find it amusing that the most memorable about the movie is Ebert's scathing review.

Ebert really hates this film. I think it's just mediocre.

Call me a sap but I love schmaltzy children's movies like this. People who share the same affinity should love this movie as much as I did. It has a great ensemble cast and the ending is every bit as heartwarming as you'd expect.

This movie is clearly in the mold of dozens of other '90s kids movies, made by people who had made popular and well-remembered films a number of times before. There are individual jokes in here which are great, and thematic ideas which could work really well. But as a whole, it's completely broken, unfunny and confusing and thematically null, with the only message being "your family being related to you by blood is more important than them treating you well". Plus: Super *super* racist. WTF.

F

This is an interesting story which addresses the disenfranchisement of children in our society and the utter arrogance of many grown-ups. It is a generally well-acted film with a unique premise. Unfortunately the ending is a cop-out--not only because it uses one of the laziest conclusions in the history of writing, but also because North's decision conveniently avoids the need to address any of the lasting ramifications of unhappy kids becoming 'free agents' and brokering their own adoptions.

I only saw this once (seriously, did anybody watch it twice?), back in the mid-90s. I remember Bruce dressed as a pink rabbit, a billboard of Elijah’s arse and that it very sharply marked the point where Rob Reiner’s directing career went into nosedive. (Okay, I will admit that The American President wasn’t bad).

36.000

All of Rob Reiner's contempt for the audience comes to the fore

What Landstander says.

There are a lot of good actors in this film - Elija Wood, Bruce Willis, Dan Akroyd, Jason Alexander, Jon Lovitz... and they all do a good job! It's a comedy and there are plenty of jokes and nobody gives a bad performance which is why it is hard to deconstruct this film. It's got a tough shell but when we bore our way through, inside is a piss albumen and a shit yolk. I will not accept "it's just a dream" as an excuse for such a shitty nonsensical story and unnecessary, extraneous plot threads.

36.500

bad movie