The Kid (2000)

An unhappy and disliked image consultant gets a second shot at life when an eight year old version of himself mysteriously appears.

Director:

Jon Turteltaub

Writer:

Audrey Wells

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Spencer Breslin, Emily Mortimer

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Russ Duritz
Spencer Breslin	...	Rusty Duritz
Emily Mortimer	...	Amy
Lily Tomlin	...	Janet
Jean Smart	...	Deirdre Lafever
Chi McBride	...	Kenny
Daniel von Bargen	...	Sam Duritz (as Daniel Von Bargen)
Dana Ivey	...	Dr. Alexander
Susan Dalian	...	Giselle
Stanley Anderson	...	Bob Riley
Juanita Moore	...	Kenny's Grandmother
Esther Scott	...	Clarissa
Deborah May	...	Governor
Vernee Watson-Johnson	...	Newsstand Cashier (as Vernee Watson Johnson)
Jan Hoag	...	Newsstand Tourist

Storyline

Russ Duritz is a wealthy L.A. image consultant, but as he nears 40, he's cynical, dogless, chickless, estranged from his father, and he has no memories of his childhood. One night he surprises an intruder, who turns out to be a kid, almost 8 years old. There's something oddly familiar about the chubby lad, whose name is Rusty. The boy's identity sparks a journey into Russ's past that the two of them take - to find the key moment that has defined who Russ is. Two long-suffering women look on with disbelief: Russ's secretary, Janet, and his assistant, the lovely Amy, to whom Rusty takes a shine. What, and who, is at the end of this journey?

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Plot Keywords:

image consultant | childhood | alternative history | fighting style | inner child | 

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Taglines:

Nobody ever grows up quite like they imagined.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for boxing action and mild thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Disney (UK)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 July 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Disney's The Kid

Filming Locations:

Coachella Valley, Mecca, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£383,783 (UK) (10 November 2000)

Gross:

ESP 491,340,030 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chester Films Inc., Junction, Walt Disney Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

WILHELM SCREAM: While Russ is talking to Amy, someone screams on TV in a movie that Rusty is watching.

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Goofs

Russ startles Rusty; Rusty throws his popcorn bowl and the popcorn scatters. When Russ spins the chair, the popcorn is not there, but when we see Rusty again, he and the chair are again covered with popcorn.

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Quotes

Rusty Duritz: Isn't it cool we both have to go to the bathroom at the same time?
Russ Duritz: Yes. I'll cherish this moment for a lifetime.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie there is an explanation for why the moon appears orange when it rises. This is a reference to a question posed to Russ Duritz by his 8-yr.-old alter ego, which Russ later asks his assistant to check on.

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Connections

Featured in Conversations with Jon Turteltaub (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Yester Me, Yester You, Yesterday"
Written by Ronald Miller and Bryan Wells
Performed by Kevon Edmonds
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label

User Reviews

profound,amazing

I have been always wondering "Can one truly explain the meaning of life in less than two hours?" And here I got the answer after watching this movie for 3 times. This is certainly one of the greatest films I've ever seen. Disney tries to make the film in an interesting and lovely way so it can appeal to both the kids and the adults. But what lies behind the film by far beyond the comprehension of a normal kid. Here, let's first look at how other comments put it: `The movie starts by completely neglecting even an attempt at explaining how 8-year-old Rusty shows up on 40-year-old Rusty's doorstep" But this is not true. Actually the film made a hard work demonstrated how Russ (Willis) --a successful image consultant and a rich jerk was haunted by the hallucination of a flying plane which was actually the same kind of a model given to him by his father as a present. Here Audey Wells present all the viewers a question as a shrimp in the later plot suggested it: you're having hallucination for a reason and you need to figure out what that reason is.But at that time, the film is not in a hurry to explain the reason. Later on Ross's hallucination got stronger and he even imagined a boy intruded into his house. Even more the hallucinated boy lead him to an old drome. From there Ross's dream or more accurately the psychiatric journey of exploring himself began. That exploration filled most of the film till the 8-year-old Rusty disappeared on the same drome (notice only at that time Russ's clothes changed back to the sleeping pajama). The main part of the film (that's what I called the exploration) centered on the questions that had puzzled Russ these days: What's wrong with him? Why he always said somebody call the Ouaaaaaaaaambulance? Why he had a twitch? What happened from being little Rusty and becoming Russ? What will be supposed to do with the relation with Amy? And finally what he will be doing in the later time of his life? The film did an excellent job in explain all these questions. Evenmore it raised another question: Is Russ really a loser? Here Jean Smart said something very inspiring: I mean how many of us grow up to be astronauts or prima ballerina? We just all do the best we can. This film presented the normal theme of midyear crisis in a swift and clever way without lacking of provoking thought.The main character especially Bruce Willis and Jean Smart worked very well to helped achieve visual effect as well as the profound theme.Russ got the answer and know what to do next, what about us?