Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Ben Healy and his social climbing wife Flo adopt fun-loving seven year old Junior. But they soon discover he's a little monster as he turns a camping trip, a birthday party and even a baseball game into comic nightmares.
Problem Child is a broad, raucous dark comedy that leans heavily into slapstick and mean-spirited humor. The plot is formulaic — misfit child wreaks havoc on hapless adults — with thin characterization and predictable beats. Acting is cartoonishly exaggerated across the board, fitting the tone but not particularly skillful. Cinematography is purely functional, standard early-90s studio comedy fare with nothing visually distinctive. Novelty gets a modest bump for its genuinely dark edge and mean spirit that sets it slightly apart from typical family fare of the era — the serial killer subplot and unabashedly nasty tone gave it a subversive identity. The ending is weak and rushed, resolving character arcs too conveniently given the chaos that preceded it.