The Kid (2000)

Released in 2000, The Kid is a live-action Disney movie about a guy who’s job is to fix other people’s problems - though he’s so wrapped up in this career, he’s using it to escape having to deal with his own. Starring Bruce Willis in the title role, it’s a tale of rediscovering who we are and honouring our younger selves, who often bring a lust and creativity to life that adulthood knocks out of us.

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It begins with a beautiful montage of a red plane flying through a city, which to the viewer can feel a bit random, but it has a purpose foreshadowing what’s to come. Between this, we meet Russ Duritz, as played by Willis, who is responsible for cleaning up messes. He boards a flight, seated next to a news anchor who prompts him on advice for making it big, and he advises the changes she must make to become famous within the next year. While driving in his convertible, he’s narrowly missed by the red plane, as his past comes back to bite him.

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He visits the office, where his Dad is waiting for him, their relationship estranged. He entertains him briefly before having his secretary, as played by Lily Tomlin, make up an excuse allowing him to leave. Russ makes his way to a client who’s reputation has been damaged through embezzling money meant for a children’s baseball camp, and encourages him to film and publish a video of kids pie-facing him to win back public favour.

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When he later meets his colleague Amy for a drink, as played by Emily Mortimer, she tries to persuade him to bin the tape because of how awful the guy is he’s covering for, and at first it seems he’s listened as he throws it in the trash. They go for a walk together where Amy marvels at the moon, but when Duritz mocks her fascination with it, she leaves him feeling hurt and disappointed that every time she gets a little closer to him, he does something that pushes her away again. She later finds out that he did retrieve and publish the footage after all.

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Russ heads home and sees a kid inside his property boundary, prompting him to ring his secretary in the middle of the night about increasing his security. He finally goes to sleep and is woken by a knock at the door, as he wields a baseball bat and hesitantly investigates. He finds a toy plane on his doorstep, similar to the one that nearly crashed into him earlier, and goes back to bed before being woken one last time; though this time he finds the kid inside his house and pursues a chase.

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He follows the boy in his car, jumping out when the kid takes a detour across an airfield and takes shelter in a diner nearby. Though when Russ gets inside, all trace of the child is gone. He checks himself into therapy the next day, where the professional suggests these signs are something to be listened to, a repressed childhood that’s trying to resurface. He begs for pills to medicate the issue and leaves feeling better, though this soon changes when the boy is in his living room, eating popcorn and watching a cartoon.

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Duritz soon realises the kid is a younger version of himself, that he hadn’t recognised because he’d so expertly buried his early years. The boy has no recollection how he got to the present day, and despite adult Russ’s determination to treat him as an illusion, it becomes apparent he’s quite real. Younger Russ is horrified to learn that his older self is single and living without a dog, despite pushing 40. Their first night cohabiting the apartment isn’t easy, as little Duritz insists on singing and being noisy while the other tries to sleep.

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Adult Russ wakes in the morning to find his child self has gone, much to his delight. He goes to a business meeting in a fancy restaurant, but is left embarrassed when young Duritz bangs on the window, proclaiming that he’s hungry. He completely incriminates his older self, telling Amy he wasn’t fed and was made to sleep outside in a tent, while she’s still under the impression he’s Russ’s nephew. She offers to take him for something to eat, but he’s swiftly whisked away by his adult counterpart.

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They go to the diner little Rusty ran off to earlier, trying to figure out why he’s travelled to the future, and they come to the conclusion it’s so Russ can teach his younger self how to stand up for himself, as he’s a target for bullies at school. He recruits his friend Kenny to coach Rusty in self-defence, and the more time Amy spends with the kid, the more she recognises how similar he is to Russ, giving her the wrong impression he’s been hiding the fact he has a son. She confronts him over this and the truth of the situation comes to light.

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Russ gets a call from Kenny, panicked because the ring bearer at his wedding has fallen sick - young Rusty fills in as a replacement, and they both attend the reception afterwards with Amy, where the kid proposes to her on Russ’s behalf. Our protagonist quickly dismisses the situation and shuts his heart off again, much to the disappointment of Rusty who’s trying to turn his life around. Later that night after tucking his younger self into bed, he sees news anchor Deidre on the TV, and meets her afterwards to congratulate her on taking his advice on board.

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They go for a drink afterwards, where he reveals the situation he’s in. She’s surprisingly receptive to the idea like Amy was, and also believes Rusty’s appearance is for a reason. Russ takes the kid for a drive the next day, when memories start to flood back, and they drive through a tunnel that takes them back to Rusty’s eighth birthday in 1968. It’s a significant date because the boy got into a fight protecting a dog being picked on by the school bullies, and Russ helps him win this time, hoping this will solve the time conundrum.

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When nothing changes, they think all is failed until Rusty’s terminally ill mother is called to collect him, and he’s scolded by his father for causing her more stress. Russ realises many of his problems root back to blaming himself for his mother’s death, which he assures his younger self wasn’t his fault. After years of tension between Russ and his father, it becomes clear his Dad only acted through fear and grief, rather than meaning to hurt Rusty’s feelings.

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Returning to the present, they celebrate their birthday knowing their mission to fix things was a bust. However, visiting the airfield again, they see an older guy boarding a plane, with a dog named Chester and a family in tow. As they get closer it becomes apparent he’s a more mature version of them, finally living the life Rusty dreams of. The kid disappears back to his time, and the movie ends with Russ arranging to meet his father and visiting Amy with a dog, setting his future into motion.

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I’d never heard of or watched this film before, but I picked it up in a bundle of VHS tapes and I’ve been excited to watch it. This copy is actually really cool, because not only is it a rental, but also a preview or ‘screener’ tape that would’ve been sent to reviewers and press before it was released to the public. One interesting fact is that the film was part of a three movie deal with Willis, paying a debt after the fallout of his romantic comedy ‘Broadway Bawler’ that never made it to completion. It was cheaper for the studios to do this than to settle it in court.

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Overall, I really enjoyed The Kid and I think it’s the type of movie that Disney do best. It’s very easy to watch, with some great acting by Willis and Spencer Breslin as Rusty, who won ‘Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Young Actor Age Ten or Under’ at the 22nd Young Artist Awards. The soundtrack is really fun too, matching the playful vibe of the movie, and some of the cinematography is really beautiful, especially the aeronautical shots at the beginning. I think it contains some good lessons about how trauma can shape a person, and the things we can learn from our younger selves.