| Comedy | MPAA:PG |
At one time I looked at John Cusack and Jon Cryer as low budget versions of Matthew Broderick. All three were young, handsome, with short dark hair, and a cute kind of shyness to them. There were some differences between the Jo(h)ns though, the main being - Cusack is one of those laid back, west coast kind of guys, while Cryer was one of those whiny east coast types (not that everyone from the east coast is whiny, but if you watch Seinfeld enough you might think so). Problem is, Hollywood already had a whiny east coast type in Broderick (who had more of a track record, as well as a proven actor for a father (James Broderick - the Dad in the TV show Family)). So apart from Hiding Out, The Incredible Teddy Z (a rather short lived TV series), and this film, you just don't hear much from the guy anymore (this just in, he stars in some low rated show on Fox now - I think). Maybe it had something to do with this.
Jon is the son of wealthy parents (Lynn Redgrave (of Weight Watchers) and Nicholas Pryor (who was also the Dad in Ricky Business)), who somehow has a vision of living a middle-class family life. It's hard to live that life when you're shipped off to private schools though, so Jon's always causing trouble, hoping one day his parents will run out of schools to send him to, and will bring him home. One day they do bring him home, but his joy fades when he finds out the reason - he's there to give his politician father a better family image. This idea came from his dad's campaign manager (Paul Gleason), who had alternative motives. Paul actually works for the other side - who paid him a pile of money to set up Jon's dad to lose the election. His parents are trying to set him up with a cute - if incredibly dull - girl who's politically correct (at least as Dad's ambition goes), Jon, on the other hand has met a cute young thing while waiting in line to get an autograph from his favorite horror movie actor (did I mention that Jon has an unnatural affinity for horror flicks? Well he does, so there). He 'borrows' dad's car to go out on a date with his new friend (played by Viveka Davis, who disappeared from sight until recently, when she played Wynona Judd in a mini-series). Jon gets in trouble for taking the car, and then get's in trouble with Viveka because he didn't tell her about his deeply dysfunctional family. She goes over to his house and is quite surprised to find out how big it is ('it' being the house, not his deeply dysfunctional family). They play in a fountain outside, and in a fit of playfulness, go into the house where they take off their soggy clothes and jump into the shower (they're still wearing their underwear, so don't get excited). Mom walks in on them - she gets excited - then livid. Paul recommends a fine military academy that he once went to as the perfect solution for their pervert of a son. Jon decides it's time to take a powder, and after apologizing to Viveka, the 2 of them go to the bank and find the stuff that Paul is going to use to nail Dad, instead of the small coin collection Paul said was there. While this is going on, Paul has let the cat out of the bag, and even planned a big party for Dad to drop out of the race, or else. Jon and Viveka manage to get the evidence to dad before he makes the big announcement. Dad wins the race, Jon get's a normal - well, almost normal - family life, and they all live happily ever after.
Verdict, watchable anyway. It's one of those teen saves the family comedies that we found so cute when we were younger, but didn't wear well now that we're older. It's still worth watching, and even the kids can see it, if you don't mind them seeing a girl in damp underwear, otherwise, I guess that could be used to describe this film - a little damp, but OK.