Problem Child 2

"He’s bad. She’s worse."

1991 1h 30m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 710

ComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Junior and his father, Ben, move from Cold River to Mortville. Junior becomes threatened by Ben's desire to date again and find a new mother for Junior, and sabotages each of his dates.

“He’s bad. She’s worse.”

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Cast

John Ritter
Ben Healy
Michael J. Oliver
Junior Healy
Jack Warden
Big Ben Healy
Laraine Newman
LaWanda Dumore
Amy Yasbeck
Annie Young
Ivyann Schwan
Trixie Young
Gilbert Gottfried
Mr. Peabody
Paul Willson
Smith

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian Levant
Writers: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

35 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Problem Child Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian Levant, shot by Peter Smokler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by David Kitay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lois Freeman-Fox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Ritter and Michael J. Oliver and Jack Warden carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian Levant directs. Peter Smokler behind the camera. David Kitay scores. Lois Freeman-Fox cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
235 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Part of the "Problem Child Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Brian Levant, shot by Peter Smokler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by David Kitay. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Lois Freeman-Fox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8John Ritter and Michael J. Oliver and Jack Warden carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He’s bad. She’s worse.".
10IMDB entry: tt0102719 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Peter Smokler
Original score: David Kitay
Editing: Lois Freeman-Fox
Production design: Maria Caso
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $32,704,700
Return: 218% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Problem Child 2 (1991)

Part of

Problem Child Collection

Problem Child is a 1990 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds. The film stars John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck, Gilbert Gottfried, Jack Warden, Michael Richards, and Michael Oliver. The film inspired two sequels: the first, Problem Child 2, was released theatrically in 1991; the second, Problem Child 3: Junior in Love, was a television film aired on the USA Network in 1995. The first one brought back the original cast in their original roles and picked up where the first film ended. However, Yasbeck was given a new role with a new dynamic totally opposite to her original character. Junior in Love, the third and final film, recast Ben and Junior with William Katt and Justin Chapman, while Gottfried and Warden reprised their roles as Mr. Peabody and Big Ben and does not follow the storyline of the first two films.