Coming Unglued (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

4.6/10   

Director:

Fred Gerber

Writers (WGA):

Arne Olsen (story)
Arne Olsen (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

11 April 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Sport

Plot:

12 year old Jason mistakenly suspects his parents are splitting up when his Dad announces he's leaving for a job interview in chicago...

Plot Keywords:

Wedding Anniversary | Airport | Boys' Soccer | Boy | Brother Sister Relationship

Cast

Judge Reinhold	...	Paul Hartwood
Cody Jones	...	Jason Hartwood
Melody Johnson	...	Celina Hartwood
Joely Fisher	...	Laura Hartwood
Tony Rosato	...	Marty
Barry Flatman	...	Gordon Cornell
Wendy Lum	...	Annie
Deborah Odell	...	Female council member (as Deborah O'Dell)
Jonathon Whittaker	...	Jerome (as Jonathan Whittaker)
Martin Doyle	...	Chairman
Phillip Jarrett	...	Sales clerk (as Phil Jarrett)
Neil Crone	...	Cop
Rufus Crawford	...	Officer
Sabrina Grdevich	...	Lacey
Ryan Moon	...	Mark

Also Known As:

Let's Ruin Dad's Day (Australia) (video title) (UK) (DVD title)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Pebblehut Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Outside the Mall, you see to Chicago Cops doing a crossword puzzle. On the top of the car, you see a takeout cup of coffee and a box of doughnuts. These are from Tim Hortons, A coffee shop in Canada that doesn't have a location in Chicago.

Let's Ruin Your Night!

I never know with movies such as this whether or not I should waste away precious minutes of my life going into every single thing that is horribly wrong with it. It's preferable taking the shorter route and just warning the potential viewer to stay away at all costs. Hmm...what to do.

You know when a video box stoops to comparing itself to "Home Alone" and "The Parent Trap" that it's desperate for attention. This ill-conceived film is about a couple of kids who think that their parents might be headed for divorce. The unnecessarily convoluted plot mechanics have the father going to Chicago for a business trip, the mother sneaking off to Chicago as well in order to surprise him for their anniversary and the kids traveling by themselves to try and stop their parents from getting divorced. To be honest, I think that by the time the late '90s rolled around the whole "kids stopping parents from breaking up" routine was well past its expiration date.

This hybrid TV movie/kiddie video has a distinct low-rent amateur feel to it. It's as if the makers said, "Well, this is a Judge Reinhold comedy after all so it doesn't matter how dumb and sloppy it is!" The kids have no problems using a stolen place ticket at the airport. Speaking of the airport, they go to the Abraham Lincoln Airport in Springfield, IL and board a HUGE airplane. You know, the kind with seats on the left, several in the middle, and more on the right. Come on! This pre-9/11 flick has a scene where the father is casually questioned after what appears to be a firearm is found in his bag (planted there by his son). On the ridiculously phony "plane" the doors on the bathrooms open the wrong direction and evidently anybody who feels like it can push around those snack & drink carts. All this nonsense and the film hasn't even gotten rolling yet!

Long story short, there are coincidences galore in Chicago. You know, it's just soooo easy to keep bumping into the same two or three people in such a tiny city, isn't it? The filmmakers also take the opportunity to mock Chinese people and gays in the process. "Coming Unglued" perfectly describes Judge Reinhold's career. How it has lasted into the 21st century is beyond me. Joely Fisher also co-stars and comes off looking alright as long as this isn't your first time viewing her acting. I can't wrap this up without mentioning the music. If you took annoying circus music and stuck it in a blender with saccharine kiddie comedy music then what you would get is the soundtrack to this film. Unbearable! 1/10