The film was a surprise success, quickly spawning a sequel - but Oliver all but vanished from showbiz shortly after, thanks to a lawsuit filed against his family from Universal Pictures. (3) The large stone cats that adorned the Hill Valley clock tower flank the doors of the school auditorium with one quite visibly occupying the scene when Ben follows Annie out of the auditorium.Michael Oliver memorably played John Ritter's adopted son in the two "Problem Child" films, the first of which came out 25 years ago today. (2) Some then-commercially available toy miniatures of the DeLorean, and the 2015 police car and taxi cab from Back to the Future II, can be seen in Junior's "Roach Motel". Strickland in Back to the Future, and was fond of calling both Marty and his father "slackers". Thorn (James Tolkan), among the rules that he's writing on the blackboard is "No Slackers". (image displayed above) Adding to the fun is that the film contains a number of subtle references to the Back to the Future film series, which was also produced by Universal. Joining them for a small appearance is legendary Howdy Doody host Buffalo Bob Smith as the wedding officiant, Father Flanagan, at the end. How does a hospital like this stay in business? I can only imagine how many medical malpractice lawsuits must have been taken against them.Īll of the main cast members return, except for Michael Richards. Apparently, in this hospital, no one checks the name or genders on patient's charts to ensure they have the right one.
Furthermore, at the hospital, Junior switches her chart with that of a patient in the room across the hall who is getting a massive nose job because he WANTS a large, unseemly nose.
Apparently, no one at the hospital re-checked her blood to see that she DOESN'T have Rabies. As a result, Lawanda is hauled off from her bachelorette party by Animal Control, who believe that she has Rabies. This scene leads to Junior switching some Rabies-tainted blood (that Animal Control just happened to have in their truck) with blood that the evil Lawanda was having tested (for her soon-to-be marriage to Ben, I believe). The scene also contains a dog food commercial parody that we, the audience, are left wondering if it's real or a figment of Junior's imagination. It's also not something Animal Control would do. Why? They say that it's a routine check, but they are not shown going door-to-door. Animal Control comes to visit the Healy house for a Rabies check.
The rating on the film has increased to PG-13, thanks to lines from Junior such as, "Those people are real dicks" and "The bitch must die." For the most part, the movie is fairly believable and enjoyable, aside from a trio of successive scenes near the end that are wholly unbelievable, and thus feel out of place. Problem Child 2 (1991) follows the events of the first film and manages to be just as good, even finding a way to bring back Amy Yasbeck as a new character because she and John hit it off so well and they wanted her to return. The unlikely pair plot to bring their unsuspecting parents together. On the way, Junior manages to create havoc at a carnival and sabotage an ill-fated wedding with the help of the town's other pint-size terror, Trixie (Ivyann Schwan). Junior resorts to his naughty tricks to survive and protect his dad from the clutches of the town's kid-hating millionairess, Lawanda Dumore (Laraine Newman). In Problem Child 2 (1991), Junior and his dad, Ben, relocate to a town with an over abundant supply of single women.
Just as he's ready to take drastic action, Ben realizes that beneath the little monster lurks an angel craving affection. Thinking all his new son needs is some loving attention, Ben puts up with Junior's mishaps - but only to a point. But Junior soon turns an ordinary camping trip, an innocent birthday party, and even a little league baseball game, into full-scale comic nightmares. In Problem Child (1990), good-natured Ben Healy (John Ritter) and his social-climbing wife Flo (Amy Yasbeck) adopt Junior in order to help brighten their lives. The Problem Child films are the story of devilish seven-year-old Junior (Michael Oliver), who wreaks havoc on anyone who crosses his path.