27
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63Washington PostHal HinsonWashington PostHal HinsonDugan has a brisk, imaginative comic style; he sets up his gags well, so that there's still some surprise in the punch lines when they come.
- 50Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyEvery time Problem Child gets an interesting edge, it loses it.
- 50Chicago TribuneDave KehrChicago TribuneDave KehrDugan can`t find a tone that allows him to preserve the shock of the gags while minimalizing their physical painfulness.
- 50Portland OregonianTed MaharPortland OregonianTed MaharProblem Child has moments, or perhaps instants, of misanthropic satire. There also are stroboscopically brief flashes of psychological irony or cleverness. [30 July 1990, p.D8]
- 40EmpireEmpireA dark domestic comedy that continuously shirks the courage of its convictions.
- 25Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordThere are jokes in this story of a 7-year-old adoptee from Heck, but most of them are funny despite the clumsiness of their telling. The rest aren't funny at all. [1 Aug 1990, p.D7]
- 20Los Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonLos Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonThey've jacked this loud, lame shrieker of a movie up to the highest decibels, both aural and visual, and rammed it in our faces with almost numbing aplomb.
- 16Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanWith jokes this lame you won't have to worry as much about your children getting any bad ideas.
- 10The New York TimesCaryn JamesThe New York TimesCaryn JamesAs directed by the actor Dennis Dugan, everyone seems to be yelling their lines and making huge hand gestures instead of acting.