Viewed in
2012
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Bruce Willis stars as a grumpy lonely guy, when he's suddenly visited by his 8 year old self.
Loved
Earnest story, lovable characters.
Liked
Strong themes.
Disliked
Constant vacillation between kid-oriented and adult-oriented.
Thoughts
Going in, I thought it was just a light-hearted cutesy flick. Turned out it was a magical treat, full of heart, maximizing on the wonderful premise, and capturing a great theme of what turns a kid into a jerk.
The more and more non-action flicks I watch Willis in, the more and more I'm convinced he's the most underrated actor of his generation. Here, he was completely natural as a charismatic, yet abrasive dick who transformed as the story progressed. I was in stitches when Willis cranked up the sarcasm or bantered with the hilarious Lily Tomlin. The rest of the cast was solid. Emily Mortimer was adorable as usual. And Spencer Breslin as the kid was really good at times.
I liked how it didn't bother to explain how Willis' younger self time-traveled. Instead, I found myself swept away by the amusing situations, earnest subplots, and well-executed reveals that not only illuminated the leads' past/future but also their characters. There was something magical and affecting about the younger self scolding the older one for not having a pet dog.
The story was never cynical, there were no bad guys, but the story was still compelling. It was very clear early that Willis' character was of the Ebenezer Scrooge ilk. But as I braced for the anticipated resolution, the writing unexpectedly hit me with a powerful uppercut, resulting in a very deserved emotional payoff.
What prevented it from being great was its lack of commitment to tone. As if the film didn't know if it was meant to be for adults or kids. Sometimes the message was heavy-handed, or you'd get curiously uneven performances by Willis or Breslin. I'm not sure if kids will dig the complex messages. At the same time, adults might be turned off by the amount of cheese in the first half. Having two editors in the credits might be the smoking gun to its identity issue.
Nevertheless, I was very pleasantly surprised by The Kid, and highly recommend it, for adults. The winning performances, strong themes and characters easily outshine the occasionally curious directing choices.
Random
One moment that took me out of the moment was a continuity miss. There's a scene of Breslin spilling popcorn all over himself. When he turns his head in the next shot, all the popcorn mysteriously disappeared from his sweater. But the next and last shot of the sequence, he was once again covered in it.
