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1990
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Problem Child is a 1990 American black comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan in his feature film directorial debut and produced by Robert Simonds. It stars John Ritter, Michael Oliver, Jack Warden, Gilbert Gottfried, Amy Yasbeck, and Michael Richards. It was released on July 27, 1990.
- $11 million
- Miles Goodman
- July 27, 1990
- Robert Simonds
- 2 min
- Drew Mackie
- Problem Child and Problem Child 2 were Michael Oliver’s only major roles – and he’s okay with that. Appearing in a 2012 reunion of the film’s cast to benefit the John Ritter Foundation, Oliver, who’s now 33, said he enjoys his post-Problem Child life away from Hollywood.
- Macaulay Culkin auditioned for the lead role. According to this 2012 Snakkle interview with Valerie McCaffrey, the film’s casting director, among the many child actors who auditioned was the future Home Alone star.
- It was inspired by real events. No, really. Speaking with costar Gilbert Gottfried on his podcast in 2014, writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski said the idea for the script originated with a 1988 L.A.
- It features a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards. By the time Problem Child hit theaters, Seinfeld had just started airing its first season and hadn’t yet found an audience.
- IT WAS INSPIRED BY A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE. Writing partners Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (who would go on to write Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Man on the Moon and co-create The People vs. O.J.
- MACAULAY CULKIN AUDITIONED FOR THE LEAD. Fortunately for Macaulay Culkin (who landed the starring role in Home Alone, which came out four months after Problem Child), casting director Valerie McCaffrey believed Michael Oliver was the right Junior after seeing him in a commercial.
- DENNIS DUGAN STOOD UP ON A TABLE TO LAND THE DIRECTING GIG. Dennis Dugan had never directed a feature film before, so he decided to make his pitch to Universal executives a memorable one.
- JOHN RITTER AND AMY YASBECK MET REHEARSING THE MOVIE. The two actors, cast as a married couple, met for the first time before a table read at Dugan's house.
Yasbeck is the widow of actor John Ritter, with whom she had worked in several projects. She first met him at director Dennis Dugan's house during a read-through of their film Problem Child. Yasbeck and Ritter also starred together in Problem Child 2 (1991) and guest-starred together in an episode of The Cosby Show that aired in 1991
YearTitleRoleNotes2016Claudiaepisode: "Do Not Disturb"2015Annetteepisode: "Gramps Demamp Is Dead"2013Lorraineepisode: "Larry's Wife"2013Diana MalkinEpisode: "The Archaeologist in the ...Amy Yasbeck, who played Ben's wife, Flo, in the first film, also returns, this time as school nurse Annie Young with a daughter named Trixie ( Ivyann Schwan) who's also a problem child. It was directed by Brian Levant in his feature film directorial debut and produced by Robert Simonds, who also produced the first one.
- $11–15 million
- David Kitay
- July 5, 1991
- Robert Simonds
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Jul 26, 2015 · Problem Child was Universal’s most profitable film of 1990, but its path to success was, well, a bit problematic at times. With the John Ritter -starring comedy hitting the 25th anniversary of...
Jul 27, 1990 · With John Ritter, Jack Warden, Michael Oliver, Gilbert Gottfried. A young boy just short of a monster is adopted by a loving man and his wacky wife. The laughs keep coming as the boy pushes them to the limits.
