Problem Child 3: Junior In Love

It's actually pretty hilarious how morally alright this movie is with the multiple attempted murders committed by the lead child. After all, it's all in the name of love! That is, until Junior finds the object of his desire vapid, so he rids himself of the nuisance by removing her dress in public, causing the entire room of people to laugh her out the door. Also somewhat worth noting; this thing was flooded with really bizarre and pointless Kubrick references. The teachers were all shot like the general in Paths of Glory, the dentist's office looked like something out of A Clockwork Orange, the obvious attempts at the drill sergeant scenes from Full Metal Jacket, etc. Really strange.

General Adults Are Useless: Almost every adult in the films is either cruel, clueless, or makes no effort to rein in Junior's tendencies and give him a nurturing environment. Ben subverts this a little bit, but his efforts are undone by his own spinelessness. Subverted with Lucy's mom, who forces her daughter to let Junior come to her party. Babysitter's Nightmare: Junior is characterized as a holy terror through this trope, being passed from foster family to foster family before winding up in the care of an orphan home run by nuns. This is before he meet the Healys, and the man who would become his dad. Bad to the Bone: Junior's Leitmotif is George Thorogood and the Destroyers' "Bad To The Bone", and the opening riff sounds pretty often when he's causing mayhem. It's All About Me: Flo Healy and LaWanda Dumore only care about making themselves look good. Meaningful Name: Ben Healy literally heals Junior. New Job as the Plot Demands: Gottfried's character, Mr. Peabody, was an adoption agent in the first film, a principal in the second (and cartoon) and a dentist in the third. Nice Guy: Ben Healy is the nicest person in the series, hands down, because he genuinely loves Junior even when he's bad. The problem is that a lot of people find it easy to take advantage of that kindness. Re-Cut: Both 1 and 2 aired on television, edited for content, but with newly-added scenes to make up for what was cut. You can watch them here and here. Shout-Out: Below is a list of examples from all three movies: The poster of the 1st movie resembles that of Parenthood. In 3, when Murph (Eric Edwards) introduces Junior to his sister Bertha (played by Edwards in drag), Junior says "Who let her out of Jurassic Park?" Both Jurassic Park and Problem Child franchises are Universal releases. Also in the third film, Dr. Peabody wears a Watchmen button on his suit. World of Jerkass: The number of genuinely nice people you'll find in this series can pretty much be counted on one hand. Kids Are Cruel (not just Junior, but many others as well whom Junior often gets brutal revenge on), adults are passive-aggressive at best and sourpuss Jerkasses at worst, and often times the only one who seems to have a heart is Ben.

Problem Child Adoption Diss: Lucy Henderson's friends say that Junior's "not even a real kid. He's adopted." All Just a Dream: The TV version adds a scene during Martin's ink blot test, in which he hallucinates, and dreams about being set to the electric chair, and escaping from it in the process, but not before sending the Warden to it. And There Was Much Rejoicing: The nuns throw a celebration at the orphanage when Ben Healy decides to adopt Junior. Batter Up!: Junior's dad gives him the tip of "holding onto the bat" after two strikes. After hitting the ball, he holds onto the bat while making his way to the bases and uses it to beat up anyone in his way. Bears Are Bad News: During the camp scene, Roy wanted to scare everyone wearing a bear costume. The prank goes south when Junior finds a real bear and brings it to the camp with a steak. Because You Were Nice to Me: Junior is shown to actually like Ben as a father, since Ben was the first person to adopt him to actually treat him better. Big Bad: Martin, aka the Bow Tie Killer, the escaped convict who Junior writes letters to, becomes a bigger danger to Ben's family than Junior could ever be. Birthday Party Goes Wrong: Junior goes to a Lucy's birthday party. She and her other guests mistreat him and exclude him from many activities (because "he's not even a real kid; he's adopted"), so Junior takes his revenge on her by doing the following: filling the pinata with the contents of several pickle jars, throwing her presents in the pool, putting a live frog in the punch bowl, and replacing the cake's candles with firecrackers. Butt-Monkey: Mother Superior. Eventually, Ben and Flo themselves. Practically anyone under Junior's sly revengeful stunts. Chekhov's Gun: The dried-up prune Ben carries around as a good luck charm, which ends up saving his life when he takes a bullet for Junior. Comically Small Demand: After the disastrous birthday party that he realizes Junior instigated, Ben at first considers spanking him but instead orders Junior to return his allowance of $1. Junior, having stolen hundreds of dollars by now, has to shuffle through his drawer for a one-dollar bill. Copycat Mockery: Junior repeats what Mr. Peabody says and does during a conversation with the nuns. Corrupt Politician: Big Ben has absolutely no loyalty to the office he is running for, and all his campaign promises are Blatant Lies. Fortunately, he's exposed as a phony at the end. (See Is This Thing Still On?). Diabolical Mastermind: Junior. Doorstop Baby: Junior was left at a random door, and this was repeated for each set of adoptive parents even when he outgrew the basket. Especially Zoidberg:Big Ben: Is there a lesson to be learned from all this? How about don't trust anyone?Little Ben: Not even your own father?Big Ben: Especially your own father! Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The Bow-Tie Killer is the nickname of Martin Beck. Evil Counterpart: The Bow Tie Killer to Ben Healy. Junior has a fondness for both of them, however while Ben is genuinely caring, compassionate and a doting father to Junior, The Bow Tie Killer is sociopathic, ruthless and intends on using Junior as a means to an end, nothing more. Groin Attack: The climax of the baseball scene ends with Junior hitting the catcher's balls with the bat. "We've adopted Satan." Also, in response to Beck's offer of terrorizing the state together, Junior kicks him right there. I Have a Family: Mayor Healy and Principal Peabody failed to keep their end of a bargain with mobsters. Healy played straight with the trope by stating he had a family. Peabody, on the other hand, said he didn't have one but could get one. I Have Your Wife: And adopted son. Beck at first uses this blackmail on Ben to get $100,000 in cash. Ben at first decides "Screw 'em, I want to be left alone!" but then has a change-of-heart for Junior upon seeing an impressive drawing of himself. But he still lets Beck keep Flo. I Love the Smell of X in the Morning:Junior: [After breaking several milk bottles] I love the smell of spilled milk in the morning. It smells like victory. note This scene was exclusive to TV versions. Inkblot Test: The prison psychiatrist is giving a Rorschach test to the Bow Tie Killer (Martin Beck), only the "inkblots" are actually bloodstains left by his victims. While the warden is in the room he lies, saying he sees things like butterflies and bunnies hopping across fields. This enrages the warden, and the psychiatrist forces him to leave. Once the warden leaves, the psychiatrist continues the test, and the Bow Tie Killer says he sees blood, and kills the psychiatrist, puts on his clothes and drives out of prison. Why no one was watching what was going on from behind a two-way mirror is anyone's guess. Is This Thing Still On?: Shortly before the climax, Ben asks his Jerkass father Big Ben for money to pay the ransom of his kidnapped wife and son while the former is preparing for his Mayor campaign speech. When he turns him down, Ben then asks "Hey, Dad! Why don't you tell all the voters what you really plan on doing with this town?" and surreptitiously turns on the camera:Big Ben: I don't give a rat's ass for the voters! All I care about is the power and the power that'll give me the money. That's why I'm a success and you're not! America for the Americans. If you believe that nonsense, you're even stupider than I thought! I'd sell my soul to the Japanese if they made me an offer. And as for you, don't come suckering around me if you want something! The only thing you'll get from me is this! (moons the camera) Japan Takes Over the World: Big Ben Healy mentions that he's selling his store and his land to Japanese businessmen. If you watch carefully during the baseball game, you can even see them briefly. Jerkass: Big Ben Healy. The same with Flo. The same with many of the children, especially towards Junior. Junior himself is a quite a bit of one in his own way, but is shown to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold in the end. Laser-Guided Karma: Several examples: The Spoiled Brat Lucy only invites Junior so she can get ice cream, balloons, and a clown, and says Junior can't participate in the activities and agrees with the girl who says that "He's not even a real kid; he's adopted." Junior ruins her party in epic fashion as payback. The little league players who mock Ben and Junior get a well deserved beatdown, and Junior slides under the catcher with the bat for two balls with one strike. Ben sinking his Jerkass father's mayoral campaign (See Is This Thing Still On?). Flo is thrown into a pig truck headed for Mexico while still inside a suitcase. Leitmotif: The Bow Tie Killer has a harmonica tune playing whenever he comes on-screen. Mooning: Big Ben does this without realizing that the camera is on. No Accounting for Taste: Ben is a Nice Guy while Flo is a self-centered harpy. The two share absolutely nothing in common. Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: The Bow-Tie Killer claims he's this. Junior, however, actually plays it straight because he's a nice enough kid if he's treated like a human being. Nun Too Holy: The nuns at the orphanage are downright mean, and they eventually use underhanded tactics to trick the Healeys into adopting Junior. Oh, Crap!: The parrot's reaction to Junior upon his arrival at the Healy house. Papa Wolf: Ben, when he meets up with Martin at the Circus.Little Ben Healy: "What did you say you Bow-Tie freak? NOBODY hurts my boy, now let him go!" Same thing later on, when he uses himself as a shield to protect Junior from being shot by Martin. Rage-Breaking Point: Ben finally gets to this point when one of Junior's stunts bankrupts him. He only barely stops himself from smothering Junior, and allows Beck to kidnap him. Recycled Soundtrack: The music during the bear attack is recycled from the 1987 film Real Men, also scored by Miles Goodman and also starring John Ritter. Spoiled Brat: There's nothing nice at all about Lucy Henderson who definitely deserved what was coming to her, and even her own mom came close to punishing her by threatening to cancel her party. Flo is an adult version in that she spoils herself and forces Ben to cave into her every wish. Taking the Bullet: Ben does this for Junior at the climax when the Bow-Tie Killer shoots at him. Fortunately the dried plum saves him. Take That!: This line from Big Ben Healy speaks for itself.Big Ben Healy: "Happy? You don't know what you're letting yourself in for. For all you know, his parents may have met in the looney bin. They might even be Democrats!" With Friends Like These...: Ben's neighbor Roy, who loves to make fun of him and acts in a rather condescending manner. Ben does get a measure of payback at the end by stealing his van (and his Super Dad cap) to go rescue Junior, though. You Can Keep Her!: When the Bow Tie Killer kidnaps Flo and Junior, Ben is initially overjoyed that they are gone. However after seeing a drawing Junior made of him, he realizes Junior loves him and goes out to rescue him. Flo's not so lucky, though. 781b155fdc