Jimmy the Kid (1982) New World/Action-Comedy RT: 85 minutes Rated PG (language, comical violence, mild crude humor) Director: Gary Nelson Screenplay: Sam Bobrick Music: John Cameron Cinematography: Dennis Dalzell Release date: November 12, 1982 (US) Cast: Gary Coleman, Paul Le Mat, Ruth Gordon, Dee Wallace, Walter Olkewicz, Cleavon Little, Fay Hauser, Pat Morita, Avery Schreiber, Don Adams. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
I must have watched Jimmy the Kid about 20 times on HBO in summer 1983. It seemed to be on every afternoon. I didn’t get to see it at the movies because it only played in a few theaters when it opened in Philadelphia (circa March ’83) where it played on a double bill with The Sword and the Sorcerer. It premiered on cable TV a few months later and earned itself a fan in 15YO Movie Guy.
I would never have admitted this to any of my classmates at the time, but I kind of liked Gary Coleman. I watched his sitcom Diff’rent Strokes (1978-86) practically every week. I really liked his other theatrical foray On the Right Track (1981) as well as his many made-for-TV movies (Scout’s Honor, The Kid with the Broken Halo and The Kid with the 200 I.Q.). He passed away in 2010 at 42, but his catchphrase “What’choo talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?” will forever echo in the minds of anybody who came of age in the early 80s.
Anyway, I got the chance to revisit Jimmy the Kid this past weekend. I popped my old VHS copy into the player and sat back to ride the oncoming wave of movie nostalgia. Ah yes, a small piece of my teen years recovered! Many people relive their teen years through the popular music of the time; I relive mine through the movies of the time. That’s right, I had NO social life! No big deal, it gave me more time to pursue my interest in movies. I’m pleased to report that I still like Jimmy the Kid. It’s funny and has a great supporting cast. I also learned that it’s based on a novel by best-selling author Donald E. Westlake (it’s part of the Dortmunder series). I’m not sure he envisioned his book as a vehicle for Coleman, but it works for this movie geek. It’s a hell of a lot better than What’s the Worst That Could Happen?, the 2001 movie featuring Martin Lawrence as the Dortmunder character. Yikes, please!
Jimmy (Coleman) is an unusual kid in that he doesn’t feel like a kid. He doesn’t feel like he’s having any fun. He wears suits, reads self-help books and visits his psychiatrist (Schreiber, Galaxina) three times a week. Poor deprived kid, he’s never even been to the circus. His wealthy parents, Herb (Little, Blazing Saddles) and Nina (Hauser, Jo Jo Dancer Your Life is Calling), are in show business and aren’t home a lot of the time. They’re a popular singing group called (appropriately enough) Herb & Nina. She dotes on her son, calling him enough sugary pet names to send a diabetic into a coma, while Herb buys into almost every business venture (like a chain of Greek restaurants in Kansas City) his accountant offers him. The most reliable adult in Jimmy’s life appears to be his extremely near-sighted chauffeur Maurice (Morita, The Karate Kid).
Meanwhile, four bumbling criminals are plotting to kidnap Jimmy for $500,000 ransom. Kelp (Olkewicz, Making the Grade) got the idea from a how-to book about kidnapping and convinces his friend, unsuccessful burglar John Dortmunder (Le Mat, American Graffiti), to take part in the crime. Rounding out the gang are Kelp’s feisty mother Bernice (Gordon, Harold and Maude) and John’s ditsy girlfriend May (Wallace, E.T.). The kidnappers manage to grab Jimmy and get him to their hideout even though they have no idea what they’re doing. His parents bring in an equally unqualified private detective (Adams, Get Smart) to get their son back. None of this fazes Jimmy in the least as he starts to bond with his abductors. It’s the most fun he’s ever had in his twelve years.
Jimmy the Kid is the kind of movie made to play exclusively at matinee showings since it’s highly unlikely any adult would see it by choice. Despite some bad language, it’s a perfect movie to show the kidlets on a rainy day. It’s unlikely that they’ll know who Coleman is unless they watch reruns of Diff’rent Strokes (currently running on Antenna TV). Still, I think they might get a kick out of this movie.
As for me, I find it difficult exactly why I defend such an inconsequential movie. As an adult, I know it’s strictly kiddie matinee rubbish. The humor is definitely unsophisticated (Adams dressing in drag, Maurice’s bad driving, Kelp’s pratfalls), but I still laugh. How can I not laugh? It’s just so damn silly and stupid that I have to. The obvious running joke in Jimmy the Kid is the fact that Jimmy is far more intelligent than any of the adults around him including his psychiatrist who apparently has issues of his own. In a movie like this, we already know that the so-called bad guys will turn out to be a bunch of incompetent buffoons. It doesn’t matter, it’s still pretty funny.
What makes the movie work so well is the talented supporting cast, many of whom are no longer with us (Gordon, Olkewicz, Little, Morita, Adams, Schreiber). Adams basically reprises his Maxwell Smart character from his TV series Get Smart (1965-70) even using one of his old catchphrases (“Would you believe…. ?”). Gordon always plays the same feisty little old lady and it’s always funny. Here, the larcenous octogenarian constantly dotes over her jailbird son Sonny (we never see him) and even orders bourbon at McDonald’s. It’s a shame (but not surprising) that Jimmy the Kid wasn’t a box office success; it might have inspired a line of McBourbon shakes as a way of luring adults into the joint.
Here’s the deal, Jimmy the Kid is an enjoyable little movie if taken on its own terms. It’s good, almost-clean, silly fun that doesn’t demand too much from one’s intellect. I like this movie very much and I’ll go to my grave defending it.
