Problem Child

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Problem Child

PG

1990

1h 21m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

3%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

43%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Ben is a good-hearted guy who's always wanted a son of his own, but so far he and his wife have had no success. The couple adopt Junior, a redheaded hellion who quickly makes their lives miserable. Disaster follows Junior wherever he goes, from camping trips that require emergency-room visits to birthday parties that turn into Grand Guignol affairs. When Ben's incensed family tells him to get rid of the boy, he starts to wonder if they might be right.

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Critics Consensus

Mean-spirited and hopelessly short on comic invention, Problem Child is a particularly unpleasant comedy, one that's loaded with manic scenery chewing and juvenile pranks.

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Michael Wilmington

Los Angeles Times

Jul 14, 2014

Sound funny? The filmmakers here think so. They'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.

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Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

May 21, 2013

2/4

Some kids are born bad. Others achieve badness. And some have badness thrust upon them. The same can be said of movies.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

May 21, 2013

2/4

Inside Dennis Dugan's uncertainly staged, awkwardly sentimental Problem Child is another movie fighting to get out-one that's much meaner and probably more interesting.

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Jack E. Wilkinson

United Press International

Jun 12, 2026

Hopeful but soon hopeless Sledgehammer comedy that can be quite funny.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Nov 30, 2022

Problem Child takes the theme of the mischievous child to an alarming, and sociopathic limit. [Full review in Spanish]

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Joaquin de Luna

El Pais (Spain)

Mar 27, 2019

Terrible. [Full review in Spanish]

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Martn G

@RT84547168 Oct 14, 2026

An excellent movie. I saw it when I was young and enjoyed it every time I watched it. Even my parents, despite being older, laughed at several points. Don't let negative reviews put you off; there's a reason sequels were made.

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Robert P

@Superbad Oct 1, 2026

This movie is a *2* star Movie!

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Artur G

@RT11672082 Jul 5, 2026

As a child I choked myself laughing on this movie. After I became a boy dad I rewatched The Problem Child with my wife. We were crying. It's not a comedy. It's actually a personal tragedy of an extremely underloved boy who was always punished for being a boy and for daring do defend himself from harmful adults and bully kids. And in the case he always succeeded in it he was called a problem neither adults nor bullies.

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Jonathan T

@Jontown677 Jun 18, 2026

It’s a very 90s movie but it’s super hilarious idk why people hate it

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Glenn

@Grappler Oct 19, 2025

The boy threw the cat in the grandfather's face after he heard him say some bad things about him. The grandfather fell down the stairs backwards. LOL, you have to watch the movie. It's funny because bad things happen to someone else. If this happened to you in real life I could see why you wouldn't think it wasn't so funny

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Jane L

@Dreameater2018 Aug 9, 2025

Watched this one as a child. Super funny! They don’t make them like they did back then because of our soft pc culture.

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Synopsis

Ben is a good-hearted guy who's always wanted a son of his own, but so far he and his wife have had no success. The couple adopt Junior, a redheaded hellion who quickly makes their lives miserable. Disaster follows Junior wherever he goes, from camping trips that require emergency-room visits to birthday parties that turn into Grand Guignol affairs. When Ben's incensed family tells him to get rid of the boy, he starts to wonder if they might be right.

Director: Dennis Dugan
Producer: Robert Simonds
Screenwriter: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $53.5M
Runtime: 1h 21m
Sound Mix: Surround

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