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North

  • 19941994
  • PGPG
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
4.5/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
North (1994)
Home Video Trailer from Columbia Pictures
Play trailer0:31
2 Videos
89 Photos
  • Adventure
  • Comedy
  • Drama

Sick of the neglect he receives from his mom and dad, a young boy leaves home and travels the world in search of new parents.Sick of the neglect he receives from his mom and dad, a young boy leaves home and travels the world in search of new parents.Sick of the neglect he receives from his mom and dad, a young boy leaves home and travels the world in search of new parents.

IMDb RATING
4.5/10
14K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Rob Reiner
  • Writers
    • Alan Zweibel(novel)
    • Andrew Scheinman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Elijah Wood
    • Bruce Willis
    • Jason Alexander
Top credits
  • Director
    • Rob Reiner
  • Writers
    • Alan Zweibel(novel)
    • Andrew Scheinman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Elijah Wood
    • Bruce Willis
    • Jason Alexander
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 125User reviews
    • 24Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 9 nominations

    Videos2

    North
    Trailer 0:31
    North
    North
    Trailer 0:31
    North

    Photos89

    Dan Aykroyd, Bruce Willis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Ritter, Elijah Wood, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander, Faith Ford, and Reba McEntire in North (1994)
    Dan Aykroyd, Bruce Willis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Ritter, Elijah Wood, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander, Faith Ford, and Reba McEntire in North (1994)
    North (1994)
    Dan Aykroyd, Bruce Willis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Ritter, Elijah Wood, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander, Faith Ford, and Reba McEntire in North (1994)
    North (1994)
    Bruce Willis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Elijah Wood, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander, Faith Ford, and Reba McEntire in North (1994)
    Elijah Wood in North (1994)
    Elijah Wood in North (1994)
    Elijah Wood in North (1994)
    Elijah Wood in North (1994)
    Elijah Wood in North (1994)
    Elijah Wood in North (1994)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Elijah Wood
    Elijah Wood
    • Northas North
    Bruce Willis
    Bruce Willis
    • Narratoras Narrator
    Jason Alexander
    Jason Alexander
    • North's Dadas North's Dad
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus
    • North's Momas North's Mom
    Marc Shaiman
    Marc Shaiman
    • Piano Playeras Piano Player
    Jussie Smollett
    Jussie Smollett
    • Adamas Adam
    Taylor Fry
    Taylor Fry
    • Zoeas Zoe
    Alana Austin
    Alana Austin
    • Sarahas Sarah
    Peg Shirley
    • Teacheras Teacher
    Chuck Cooper
    Chuck Cooper
    • Umpireas Umpire
    Alan Zweibel
    Alan Zweibel
    • Coachas Coach
    Donavon Dietz
    • Assistant Coachas Assistant Coach
    Teddy Bergman
    Teddy Bergman
    • Teammateas Teammate
    Michael Cipriani
    • Teammateas Teammate
    Joran Corneal
    • Teammateas Teammate
    Joshua Kaplan
    • Teammateas Teammate
    James F. Dean
    • Dad Smithas Dad Smith
    Glenn Walker Harris Jr.
    Glenn Walker Harris Jr.
    • Jeffrey Smithas Jeffrey Smith
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writers
      • Alan Zweibel(novel) (screenplay)
      • Andrew Scheinman(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Eleven-year-old North has had it with his parents. They are always busy with their careers and don't give North the attention he needs, so he files a lawsuit against them. The judge rules that North should either find new parents or return to his own parents within two months. Thus North starts off on a hilarious journey around the world to find the parents that really care about him. —Peter Huiskes <huiskes@westbrabant.net>
    • child protagonist
    • divorce
    • courtroom
    • adoption
    • argument
    • 112 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • North's hopping mad with his parents, and now he's off on a world wide adventure!
    • Genres
      • Adventure
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Family
      • Fantasy
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated PG for a few words
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      At the time of its release, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel considered this to be one of the worst films they'd ever reviewed. Ebert wrote, "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it." The pair later reviewed it on their television show, where Ebert went on to say that the movie made him "cringe... just sitting here thinking about it." Gene Siskel characterized it as "junk" and said that it made him feel "unclean." The clip of their review would go on to become a popular Internet meme associated with bad movie reviews. When Rob Reiner was roasted at the New York Friar's Club, Richard Belzer asked him to read Ebert's review, Reiner did so, then joked "if you read between the lines, [the review] isn't really that bad." Screenwriter Alan Zweibel keeps a clipping of the review in his wallet, sometimes reading it at public appearances. Ebert's review eventually became so notorious (arguably more so than the film itself) that he later released a collection of negative reviews titled "I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie."
    • Goofs
      When the lawyer, Arthur Bell, meets North for the first time on the street, he hands North his card and promptly takes it back. In the next shot, North is still holding the card. At that point, Mr. Bell reaches to shake North's hand (which is still holding the card) and in the next shot the card disappears again.
    • Quotes

      Joey Fingers: A bird in the hand is always greener than the grass under the other guy's bushes. It's a metaphor used by gardeners and landscaping people in general.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Client/Lassie/It Could Happen to You/North/Barcelona (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      If I Were a Rich Man
      From Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

      by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick

      Performed by Elijah Wood

    User reviews125

    Review
    Top review
    3/10
    Reiner's runt
    North (Elijah Wood), a bright and talented eleven year old boy (or so we're told) who clearly never had to go hungry but whose parents are so preoccupied with their career that they don't let him speak at the dinner table to dispense the wisdom his many gifts have bequeathed him (speaking of child-abuse), decide to "divorce" them and find himself a new set of parents more appreciative of his talents. Consequently, he meets a bunch of wannabe quirky characters who all desperately want to adopt him and is being helped along the way by his "guardian angel" (Bruce Willis).

    I've never really been one to join in on a mob. Crowds generally make me nervous and I usually regard any gathering of any kind with a healthy dose of suspicion. So jumping on any bandwagon just isn't me. Furthermore, I've always had a soft spot for the underdog, the ugly duckling, the universally vilified, always finding redeeming features to features that usually can't be redeemed. So obviously, when I heard of "North", the 1994 comedy from director Rob Reiner, with its stellar cast and very bad reputation, I was intrigued. Reiner has always been a director with a rather good track record, his movies usually ranging from decent to excellent. So how bad could "North" be? Or more accurately put: how does a bad Rob Reiner film look like?

    Well... "North" is a film that constantly struggles to find its audience and eventually fails to find any. As a film for adults, the "philosophical" narration provided by Bruce Willis never succeeds to soften the absurdity of the plot and as a film for children the whole thing is riddled with off-colour jokes and somewhat waspish clichés that make this spectacle quite inappropriate for that particular target audience. But where "North" really goes south is that failing to have a single joke that work, the film goes for the jugular and turns downright crass (the Hawaiian episode springs to mind, in that respect).

    Of course, one could argue that the film has its heart beating at the right place (like any other Rob Reiner film) and was simply a misguided effort but not quite. The fact of the matter is that "North" is never funny (which in itself is pure torture for a so-called comedy) but offensive and ultimately mean-spirited through its boring stereotypes and its attempts at poking fun at somewhat dodgy subjects, going as far as insulting the audience's intelligence with truck loads of ludicrous and stupid characters, the main villain here chief suspect among these, deserving of a good spanking before being sent to bed without dessert... for life.

    I so wanted to like this film, if only for the fact that it was generally reviled by everyone, which I admit is rather obnoxious of me. But I simply can't and must add my voice to the sound of the crowd as the song goes. Is "North" the worse film ever made? Well, I've certainly seen a lot worse. But somehow, thinking of it I feel like punching something. So that can't be good...
    helpful•15
    8
    • cedde6
    • Jan 11, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 22, 1994 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Norte
    • Filming locations
      • Caldwell, New Jersey, USA
    • Production companies
      • Castle Rock Entertainment
      • Columbia Pictures
      • New Line Cinema
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $40,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,182,747
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,036,050
      • Jul 24, 1994
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,182,747
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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