Russ Duritz (Bruce Willis) is an ultracynical, 40-year-old L.A. image consultant who fashions bogus façades for scumbag clients. Oblivious to his own need for a makeover, he's a tyrant in the office (to the chagrin of his sarcastic assistant, played to perfection by Lily Tomlin), and he's emotionally unavailable to the morally centered woman (Emily Mortimer) who senses goodness beneath Russ's hardened veneer. Not a moment too soon, a pudgy kid (Spencer Breslin) mysteriously appears in Russ's life, revealing himself to be Rusty Duritz--that is, Russ's 8-year-old self, arriving by some magic to put the adult Russ's life into beneficial perspective. This variation on A Christmas Carol has Rusty guiding Russ on a tour of his past to reveal how he became a loveless, hard-shelled loser. It takes a bit of smarmy chicken-soup psychology to explain it all, but The Kid is an otherwise charming and involving fantasy, suggesting that perhaps we'd all benefit from a bit of counseling by our younger selves. Written with admirable restraint by Audrey Wells (who brought a similar appeal to The Truth About Cats and Dogs) and directed by Jon Turteltaub (Cool Runnings), the movie doesn't force its supernatural elements or attempt to explain Rusty's existence. It's just a fable for our modern age and a reminder to embrace the better angels of our nature. Delivered with an easy blend of humor and sentiment, that message makes The Kid an unexpected pleasure. (Look closely for Matthew Perry as Willis's shaggy-haired client.) --Jeff Shannon
DVD features Spencer Breslin may not steal every scene he's in as the title role of The Kid, but he does steal every bit of the hilarious commentary on the DVD. The extras focus on young Breslin, first with a 20-minute featurette with behind-the scenes footage of Spencer from his casting to the film's wrap. The witty and playful director Jon Turteltaub reverses an old axiom stating he loves working with kids, especially Spencer. He illustrates this--and Spencer's unabashed enthusiasm--by sharing the commentary duties with him, and the result is a 108-minute record that's funnier than the film. Spencer asks questions out of the blue ("Jon, does my DVD player come with a remote?"), repeats Turteltaub's technical information with perfect irony, embarrasses the director on continuity errors, and munches on an occasional pickle. For anyone who falls for Spencer's charms in the film (it's hard not to), the DVD commentary is a must, and a new standard in laughs per commentary. --Doug Thomas
2.
Russ Duritz is a success--he has looks, he has money, and he has power. The only things he's missing are friends and a conscience. But when an eight-year-old boy mysteriously keeps popping up in his high-security home, Russ finds things getting strange: The boy turns out to be himself at age eight--Rusty. Once Russ is able to even accept that the boy is who he says he is (with the hilarious help of Dana Ivey as a therapist under pressure and Lily Tomlin as Russ's assistant), he resists being associated with that image of himself yet again: a pudgy "loser" with a speech impediment. His halfhearted attempts to court his assistant, Amy, are accelerated when his younger self decides to take a hand. Russ thinks he's supposed to help his eight-year-old self become less of a geek, but Rusty might be there to teach Russ a thing or two about the things that really matter. Director Jon Turteltaub also produced this nostalgic, shamelessly emotional film, which features cameos by Larry King and Harold Greene.
3.
Russ Duritz (BRUCE WILLIS), a successful image consultant's life is suddenly turned upside down when he magically meets Rusty (SPENCER BRESLIN), Russ himself as an 8-year-old kid. Rusty is a sweet, but slightly geeky, awkward little kid who painfully reminds Russ of everything he hated about himself when he was a child—a pudgy, little cry-baby who was the daily victim of the school bullies—an image Russ has worked hard to overcome and consciously forget.
Ironically, the kid is also unhappy with who his 40-year-old self has turned out to be. He is not at all impressed by his attractive physique, wealth, or seemingly important accomplishments. He can’t understand the concept of Russ’ job as an image consultant, or why he has forgotten about their dreams of becoming a pilot. All he knows is that he grows up to be a 40-year-old loser—an adult without a wife or even a dog!
4.
International superstar Bruce Willis (The Whole Nine Yards, The Sixth Sense), along with Lily Tomlin (9 To 5, Tea With Mussolini), Emily Mortimer (Scream 3, Notting Hill) and newcomer Spencer Breslin star in the hilarious and heartwarming comedy Disney's The Kid. Successful, high-powered Russ Duritz (Willis) has spent all of his incredibly empty life forgetting the child he used to be -- until one day, he meets him face-to-face! Thinking this kid is a hallucination, Russ does everything he can to make him go away. But 8-year-old Rusty (Breslin), who's anything but happy that he grows up to be a loser without real meaning in his life, can't leave -- at least not yet. At once funny and charming, Disney's The Kid is a magical comedy that's filled with adult-sized laughs.
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