It seems the early 90's we're a time for family movies where parents were either absent from the presence of their kids or wanted different parents.
Naturally the smash-hit success of Home Alone is what led to that most likely there were many carbon copies or recycling the formula of children wanting different parents or making theirs disappear.
It was also a time where talented Hollywood people would get on board with that particular story albeit not always for the best.
Released only two months (but filmed two years earlier) than Rob Reiner's disastrous North which Roger Ebert hated with a passion, which was also based on an obscure kids novel, Sissy Spacek apparently thought another adaptation of an unheard of novel would be worth adapting with the theme of children finding different parents.
Well this film is nowhere near as offensive or distasteful as North was which is a plus and of course North was about getting rid of both parents whereas this is just three kids who want to get rid of their strict mother.
Their real mom and the three replacements are all played by Spacek with different makeup and accents and Spacek does work well with the material she has as does Anna Chlumsky (this was filmed right after her breakout role in My Girl, but released right after My Girl 2).
Still with this amount of talent there are a couple problems. First of all the movie has a very dark and dreary look to it.
I don't know if this was done on purpose or if the weather was simply cloudy where they shot the movie but even indoor scenes look dark and murky which I just feel is wrong for this premise.
Also some of the subplots just don't seem to me to be good for a children's film.
One subplot involving the school principal who thinks the kids don't have a mother and threatens to put them in foster care just doesn't mesh well here.
This is supposed to be a comedy and that is rather a serious and upsetting subplot for a film for small children as this one is.
Also the kid playing the youngest child Harry is not a good actor. Of course I am not expecting that kid to be an Oscar winner but he has a very annoying way of speaking. The role should have been cast better.
Chlumsky and the older brother actor are fine and elevate decent performances although Chlumsky doesn't get to show her talent and range that she did in My Girl.
This was also the last film of Andre the Giant and if you're wondering how he was in this movie after a 1994 release date when he died in 1993 well this was filmed in 1992 and sat on the shelf for two years.
Seeing him in his last appearance does offer some fun especially for many who enjoyed him in Princess Bride.
It might be a fun movie to watch with your kids if nothing else is better to watch but unlike other kids films of the era I don't feel it holds up really well despite some good things.
Spacek has naturally done much better work elsewhere as has Chlumsky and I think Hollywood never really caught on in understanding that a repeated formula of finding different parents just doesn't always work.
It's an ok movie for kids but it's dreary look and made for tv feel work against some good things it has going for it.
In terms of being clean it's far better than North and nowhere near as tasteless.
Naturally the smash-hit success of Home Alone is what led to that most likely there were many carbon copies or recycling the formula of children wanting different parents or making theirs disappear.
It was also a time where talented Hollywood people would get on board with that particular story albeit not always for the best.
Released only two months (but filmed two years earlier) than Rob Reiner's disastrous North which Roger Ebert hated with a passion, which was also based on an obscure kids novel, Sissy Spacek apparently thought another adaptation of an unheard of novel would be worth adapting with the theme of children finding different parents.
Well this film is nowhere near as offensive or distasteful as North was which is a plus and of course North was about getting rid of both parents whereas this is just three kids who want to get rid of their strict mother.
Their real mom and the three replacements are all played by Spacek with different makeup and accents and Spacek does work well with the material she has as does Anna Chlumsky (this was filmed right after her breakout role in My Girl, but released right after My Girl 2).
Still with this amount of talent there are a couple problems. First of all the movie has a very dark and dreary look to it.
I don't know if this was done on purpose or if the weather was simply cloudy where they shot the movie but even indoor scenes look dark and murky which I just feel is wrong for this premise.
Also some of the subplots just don't seem to me to be good for a children's film.
One subplot involving the school principal who thinks the kids don't have a mother and threatens to put them in foster care just doesn't mesh well here.
This is supposed to be a comedy and that is rather a serious and upsetting subplot for a film for small children as this one is.
Also the kid playing the youngest child Harry is not a good actor. Of course I am not expecting that kid to be an Oscar winner but he has a very annoying way of speaking. The role should have been cast better.
Chlumsky and the older brother actor are fine and elevate decent performances although Chlumsky doesn't get to show her talent and range that she did in My Girl.
This was also the last film of Andre the Giant and if you're wondering how he was in this movie after a 1994 release date when he died in 1993 well this was filmed in 1992 and sat on the shelf for two years.
Seeing him in his last appearance does offer some fun especially for many who enjoyed him in Princess Bride.
It might be a fun movie to watch with your kids if nothing else is better to watch but unlike other kids films of the era I don't feel it holds up really well despite some good things.
Spacek has naturally done much better work elsewhere as has Chlumsky and I think Hollywood never really caught on in understanding that a repeated formula of finding different parents just doesn't always work.
It's an ok movie for kids but it's dreary look and made for tv feel work against some good things it has going for it.
In terms of being clean it's far better than North and nowhere near as tasteless.