15 year old Clifford Peache (Chris Makepeace) lives in Chicago luxury hotel Ambassador East with his eccentric grandmother (Ruth Gordon) and his father (Martin Mull) who manages the hotel. He's the new kid in high school. Clifford quickly gets into trouble with school bully Melvin Moody (Matt Dillon) and his group of tough guys. Lots of smaller kids pay protection money to Moody. Moody is reported to the school which only gets Clifford picked on secretly. Shelley (Joan Cusack) is desperate to be popular but Moody keeps making fun of her. Clifford befriends and tries to hire sullen giant student Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin) who is rumored to have killed somebody.
This movie would work a lot better with less screen time for the adults. They are a way out for Clifford and keeps the tension down. The point is to keep his options limited. Also time spent with his family is wasted. It adds very little to the movie. Although Linderman has a good time with the Peaches. I would keep that section with the adults. Chris Makepeace is a pretty good teen actor especially in a role like this. The friendship is pretty good. The final fight is a little awkward. It's pushing believability to have Clifford win in a solo fight against Moody. It's also weird to have Linderman keep sending the poor kid back into the fight.
This movie would work a lot better with less screen time for the adults. They are a way out for Clifford and keeps the tension down. The point is to keep his options limited. Also time spent with his family is wasted. It adds very little to the movie. Although Linderman has a good time with the Peaches. I would keep that section with the adults. Chris Makepeace is a pretty good teen actor especially in a role like this. The friendship is pretty good. The final fight is a little awkward. It's pushing believability to have Clifford win in a solo fight against Moody. It's also weird to have Linderman keep sending the poor kid back into the fight.