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.

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.

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.

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.

36.500

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.

Beginning of the end for Reiner as a good filmmaker

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

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.

What Landstander says.