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A not well looking Robin Williams hands us some green goo on this poster for Les Mayfield's Flubber
Professor Brainerd invents a green mass with a series of extraordinary properties, - but others soon want to own his invention, and his fiancée!
Flubber is written by John Hughes (Weird Science (1985)) and Bill Walsh (Mary Poppins (1964)), based on Samuel W. Taylor's short story A Situation of Gravity, as a remake of The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), and directed by Les Mayfield (Encino Man (1992)).
Hughes disappoints horribly with this surprisingly flabby turkey. Robin Williams' (RV (2006)) enthusiasm can't salvage that his absent-minded professor character is more aptly described as a complete imbecile. (His 'science' among other things consists of his getting a golf ball and a bowling ball to fly around and smash up his entire lab.)
Marcia Gay Harden (Whip It (2009)) is cold, and the romance between the two is incomprehensible, until he saves her back, and she suddenly loves him. Ted Levine (Heat (1995)) and Clancy Brown (Justice League Unlimited (2004-06)) are bad, unfunny copies of the 'wet bandits' villains from the also Hughes-scripted Home Alone movies, who go through a lot lesser ordeals. And then there's the film's green 'hero', slime-ball Flubber, who doesn't achieve any real kind of personality - and wins no-one's hearts. In one scene the fellow multiplies and dances around, - as again science is just a bullhorn for infantile antics. There's also a flying sidekick, Weebo, who suffers from the same lack of personality as Flubber; it mainly communicates through use of old Disney clips ('cleverly' done, Disney...)
Flubber may be fun for little children but is a piece of scrap for everyone else - with good special effects, mostly VFX.
[Flubber premiered 16 November (New York) and runs 93 minutes. Shooting took place from October 1996 - February 1997 in California, including in San Francisco. The film opened #1 to a 26.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then 2 more weekends in the top 5 (#2-#5), grossing 92.9 mil. $ (52.2 % of the total gross). The international gross numbers are not released, but the total gross was not enough to make the film profitable. Roger Ebert gave the film a 1/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Mayfield returned with Blue Streak (1999). Williams returned with Good Will Hunting (1997). Flubber is rotten at 24 % with a 4.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
Four bumbling criminals in bad shape behind a new kid with technical appliances and two animals on his back are out selling Raja Gosnell's Home Alone 3 on this poster
A villainous quartet of terrorists hired by North Korea fly from Hong Kong to suburban Chicago to retrieve micro-chips hidden in a toy car that's now the property of smart kid Alex.
Home Alone 3 is written by John Hughes (Uncle Buck (1989)) and directed by debuting Raja Gosnell (Show Dogs (2018)). It is the third and last theatrical entry in the Home Alone franchise to date.
Alex D. Linz (One Fine Day (1996)) is charming as the new adolescent hero, credible as the highly intelligent boy. The now four thieves are uproariously stupid.
Home Alone 3 is very formulaic and bereft of magic, but it still works because it is highly amusing and made with a surplus of good-time energy.
[Home Alone 3 was released 10 December (Philippines) and runs 102 minutes. Plans for the film fell through immediately after the second film, and Macaulay Culkin stopped acting before it could be made with him. Shooting took place from December 1996 - March 1997 in Hong Kong, San Francisco, California, and in Illinois, including in Chicago. The film opened #4, behind fellow new release Scream 2, holdover hit Flubber and fellow new release For Richer or Poorer, to a 5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 30.8 mil. $ (39 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. The franchise returned with Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002, TV movie). Gosnell returned with Never Been Kissed (1999). Linz returned in 4 short and voice performances prior to his theatrical return in My Brother the Pig (1999). Home Alone 3 is rotten at 29 % with a 4.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
The charm and instant likability of Macauley Culkin sells the whole movie on this poster for Chris Columbus' Home Alone
Kevin McCallister's monstrously large family forget him in Chicago, when they head off for Christmas in Paris; meanwhile two mean crooks plan a mass-burglary scheme in their neighborhood!
Home Alone is written by John Hughes (Pretty in Pink (1986)) and directed by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting (1987)).
Macauley Culkin's (Richie Rich (1994)) charm and talent as a performer makes this otherwise somewhat grotesque film a celebration of entertainment for all ages, and particularly for the young. The slapstick humor that becomes dark comedy strikes some, but it is funny!
Joe Pesci (Raging Bull (1980)), Daniel Stern (Viva Las Nowhere (2001)), John Candy (Splash (1984)) (hilarious as the leader of a polka band that Kevin's mother comes into contact with) and Roberts Blossom (Always (1989)) as Marley, the old next-door neighbor are also terrific. Probably unintentionally the Home Alone films also show that meaning is best found outside of the family bonds, a point which I rather like. This is especially because Kevin's family is so awful, and his parents so negligent and stressed out as to virtually prick adult viewers in their eyes.
Home Alone is wildly unrealistic. - But jump on anyway. This wacky contraption is a ball!
[Home Alone premiered 10 November (Chicago) and runs 103 minutes. Hughes had promised Warner Bros. that he could make the film for 10 mil. $. When it turned out to be impossible, he had made a secret deal with Fox already, and they went in and paid for finishing the film - and thereby snatched the extremely lucrative distribution rights for the Home Alone franchise before a competing studio that must have regretted their refusal to pay up for years after. Culkin was paid 110k $ for his performance. Shooting took place from February - May 1990 in Paris, France and in Illinois, including in Chicago. Candy did his cameo as a favor to Hughes and shot his scenes in one 23 hour-long day for just 414 $. The film opened #1 to a 17 mil. $ first weekend in America, where it remained #1 for 11 consecutive weekends and then stayed in the top 5 for another 4 weekends (#3-#4-#4-#5), grossing 285.7 mil. $ (59.9 % of the total gross). It was the highest-grossing film of the year in North America, where it sold 67.7 mil. tickets, and the 3rd highest-grossing of all time (at the time), after E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Star Wars. It was also the highest-grossing live-action comedy until The Hangover Part II (2011) and highest-grossing Christmas movie until Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (2018). It was nominated for 2 Oscars: Best Score (John Williams), lost to John Barry for Dances with Wolves, and Song (Somewhere in My Memory, Williams and Leslie Bricusse), lost to Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man) by Stephen Sondheim from Dick Tracy. It was also nominated for 2 Golden Globes and a Grammy, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one. It also made 150 mil. $ on video sales in North America initially. The film spun a franchise which continued with the same filmmakers and cast in Home Alone 2: Alone in New York (1992). Columbus returned first with Only the Lonely (1991). Culkin returned first in Only the Lonely; Pesci in The Super (1991)); and Stern in The Simpsons (1991, TV-series)) and theatrically in City Slickers (1991). Home Alone fresh at 67 % with a 5.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
The popular trio from the first film reappear around a skyscraper on this amusing poster for Chris Columbus' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Kevin's McCallister's family is heading to Florida for a Christmas vacation, but at the airport Kevin gets into the wrong plane and ends up in New York, and there he is reunited with the ugly crooks from the first Home Alone!
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is written and produced by John Hughes (Beethoven (1992)) and directed by great Pennsylvanian filmmaker Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting (1987)). It is the sequel to runaway hit Home Alone (1990) by the same filmmakers with an also returning cast.
Very, very unoriginal, Home Alone 2 almost feels like a remake of the original film, - but then that film was also so bloody good that it doesn't matter much. Macauley Culkin (Saved! (2004)) is still the cutest, coolest kid in the universe here, although we this time around have no patience with his unacceptably aloof, stressed-out parents. As characters they basically deserve a slow suffocation death for their negligence to their kid.
Luckily Kevin's a go-getter and a tough cookie. SPOILER His friendship with the pigeon lady of Central Park and the moving ending to Home Alone 2 melts hearts as butter, again some movie magic that is largely due to Hughes' script and Culkin's performance and over-all angelic appearance.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is well staged with funny bits also from Tim Curry (The Secret Moonacre (2008)) and Rob Schneider (Noah (2012)) at the Plaza Hotel where Kevin takes residence, - and lots of violent slapstick gags which are fairly tasteless but nevertheless get me chuckling mirthfully every time.
[Home Alone 2: Lost in New York premiered 15 November (California) and runs 120 minutes. The script was part of Hughes' 6-picture deal with Fox. Culkin was paid 4.5 mil. $ for his performance, 40 times the 110k $ he got for the first film - plus 5% of the film's gross (17.94 mil. $ if the world gross was the gross decided on/8.67 mil. $ if it was the North-American gross alone); a new record pay for a child actor of only 11 years old. Daniel Stern (City Slickers (1991)) was paid 1 mil. $. Shooting took place from December 1991 - May 1992 in New York, California and Illinois, including in Chicago. Donald Trump got himself a cameo in the film in exchange for letting the shoot take place at his Plaza Hotel. The film opened #1 to a 31.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for another 2 weekends and remained in the top 5 for another 4 weeks (#2-#3-#3-#3), grossing 173.5 mil. $ (48.3 % of the total gross). The film was the 2nd highest-grossing of the year in North America, behind The Bodyguard, and the 3rd highest-grossing of the year worldwide, behind The Bodyguard and Aladdin. Roger Ebert gave it a 2/4 star review, translating to 2 notches under this one. The Home Alone franchise was cemented with Home Alone 3 (1997) with a script by Hughes but a new director and cast. Columbus returned with Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). Culkin returned in Darlene Love: All Alone on Christmas (1992, music video) and theatrically in The Good Son (1993); Joe Pesci (The Death Collector (1976)) in A Bronx Tale (1993); and Stern in The Wonder Years (1988-93) and theatrically in Rookie of the Year (1993). Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is rotten at 35 % with a 4.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York?
A fun, magazine-styled poster for Howard Deutch's The Great Outdoors
A lovely family has headed off to vacation in a forest log cabin in Wisconsin, when their very different sister-in-law and her family turn up. - Will they be able to stand each other?
The Great Outdoors is written by John Hughes (Flubber (1997)) and directed by Howard Deutch (Pretty in Pink (1986)).
Stars John Candy (Stripes (1981)) and Dan Aykroyd (Unconditional Love (2002)) do what they can, while debuting Annette Bening (Being Julia (2004)) cackles her way through the film in the background. But there isn't much meat in this Hughes vegetable: There is a romance side story about two youths that's DOA. And then, well, what can one say about a film that's got eating a gigantic steak and killing an odd indoor bat as two of its significant plot points?
The Great Outdoors has good-looking bear scenes (with Bart the Bear (The Bear (1988))) and works as cozy entertainment, but it has lost lots of goodwill before its improbable ending binds a peculiar bow on the shenanigans. The Great Outdoors is no-one's best work.
Watch a clip from the film here
Cost: 24 mil. $
Box office: 43.4 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.80 times its cost)
[The Great Outdoors was released 17 June (USA) and runs 90 minutes. Shooting took place in Chicago, Illinois and in California from October - December 1987. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Red Heat and holdover hit Big, to a 6.1 mil. $ in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#3) and grossed 41.5 mil. $ (95.6 % of the total gross). The film seems to have had been given a very limited international release, which also is reflected in its numbers. Deutch returned with Tales from the Crypt (1989-90)) and theatrically in Article 99 (1992). Candy returned with a voice performance in Hot to Trot (1988) and physically in Who's Harry Crumb? (1989); Aykroyd in Caddyshack II (1988). The Great Outdoors is rotten at 40 % with a 4.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
Matthew Broderick sports his boyish charms on this simple poster for John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller is a high school senior rebel who is about to take a wild day off in Chicago. He takes his introverted, anxious friend Cameron and attractive girlfriend Sloane into joining him on an adventure in Cameron's father's prized 1961 Ferrari.
For thousands upon thousands of people the world over, Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a sweetly nostalgic treasure that won't ever lose its magic. It is the perfect movie about youth, made by the great auteur of teenage portrayals, 1980s champion, Michigander master filmmaker John Hughes (Curly Sue (1991)), who wrote and directed the film. Ferris Bueller's Day Off strikes a rare balance between being funny and serious, but in the first place it is hugely entertaining throughout. Matthew Broderick (The Last Shot (2004)) is Ferris, and the supporting parts are also all brilliantly cast. Among the most memorable are Alan Ruck (Hot in Cleveland (2013), TV-series) as Cameron, who undergoes the great change in the film, effectively getting saved by Ferris into seeing the life and promises of the world all around him; Jeffrey Jones (Sleepy Hollow (1999)) as the sadistic principal and Charlie Sheen (Postmortem (1998)) in a prophetic role as a junkie. Although carpe diem is closely associated with Peter Weir's Dead Poets' Society (1989), - also a good film, - the film that truly earns the title as the seize-the-day movie of all time is Hughes'Ferris Bueller's Day Off. - Simply a blast of a film.
Cost: 5.8 mil. $ Box office: 70.1 mil. $ (North America only) = Mega-hit [Ferris Bueller's Day Off was released 11 June (USA) and runs 103 minutes. Hughes wrote the script in less than a week and shot his first draft. He intended the film to be more about characters than plot. The first cut was 2 hours and 45 minutes. Broderick and Ruck were friends and had acted together before in Biloxi Blues on Broadway. Shooting took place from September - November 1985 in Illinois, including in Chicago, and in California, including in Los Angeles. Hughes made a point of getting as much of his beloved Chicago in the film as he could. The '61 Ferrari (today one of the most expensive cars ever sold) in the film was the real deal in insert shots and reproductions in wide shots SPOILER and for the destruction scene in the end. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release Back to School, to a 6.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another week in the top 5 (#5) and scored a triumphant 70.1 mil. $, becoming the year's 10th highest-grossing title in North America. Unfortunately, its world gross is not listed. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this review. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe (for Broderick). Hughes returned with Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). Broderick returned in Project X (1987). An NBC Ferris Bueller TV-series (without Hughes or Broderick - but with Jennifer Aniston) ran a single season in 1986. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is certified fresh at 79 % with a 7.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
