16 August 2020 | vchimpanzee

Moore was hilarious, Cameron adequate

It helps if you have seen the credits, but maybe it's better to not know what is going on in the first scene. It appeared to be a very different movie. Trigger's Uncle Earl is dying in the desert when Cloud Dancing from "Dr. Quinn" picks him up and carries him to the Navajo medicine man.



Earl is given something to drink and immediately it becomes clear what has happened. The Navajo is horrified to look at the white man and see himself. The white man, apparently speaking the Navajo language, obviously feels the same way. Cloud Dancing was not known for being funny, but now that I know who it was, it was nice to see him with a sense of humor.



So now we get to know our main characters. Jack is a successful doctor at a private teaching hospital. He takes interns on rounds and is very demanding. Patients must be able to pay or they are sent to county. Interestingly enough, I ended up watching a second movie the same day I saw this where that was a potential problem. Jack is not prepared to stand up on behalf of the less fortunate, because his boss Dr. Armbruster wants to make him chief of staff. Armbruster's wife secretly wants to have an affair with the widowed Jack but he won't do that.



Chris is at school doing a biology presentation. And not doing it well. He doesn't want to be a doctor but his dad won't listen and won't accept anything but perfection from his son, who has an appointment soon with a Northwestern recruiter. Not sure why Northwestern, because they are driving distance from Death Valley. Oh, well. We also don't know why Jack is British but living in the United States.



Chris wants to ask the beautiful Lori to an Autograph concert for which he has gotten tickets. Her boyfriend Rick is a bully and she wants to take a break from him, and being shallow, she wants to go out with Chris just so she can see this band.



Chris has trained hard to run the relay, and his track coach takes notice. Rick, who looks more like a football player or wrestler, is not pleased at being demoted.



Earl is home from his adventures, and Trigger knows about the formula, which Earl brought home. Trigger brings it over to Chris' house in a Tabasco sauce bottle to test it on the pets. Cat barks, chases dog. By the way, this stuff is clear, so why is Jack going to use that bottle by mistake, rather than the one full of red stuff?



And you know what happens next.



Chris is horrified! He's OLD! Wait ... he's old. He can use his dad's credit card and buy whatever he wants. And does. Taking Trigger with him. In his dad's Jaguar, not his Jeep.



Jack knows he can't go to work. What I mean is Chris can't go to his workplace. He writes up careful instructions for Chris to follow. Chris forgets. Oh, no. Now Chris has to go to work.



But, wait. Jack has to go to school. Not a problem. Asked to explain the respiratory system in biology class, Jack goes into enormous detail and puts everyone to sleep. Fortunately, we are not subjected to all the boring parts. And it happens again in history class. Trigger tells Jack everyone hates him, and Jack doesn't care. His son WILL be responsible and do everything necessary for his life to turn out right and how others feel about him does not matter. And so he and Trigger are alone at lunch. Later, the track meet has predictable results as Jack has no idea what to do.



At some point we learn Earl doesn't have the antidote but he can find out how to get it.



Okay, Chris is at work. Well, he's on the premises. He's very pleased at the amount of respect he gets But he has to make his way through a chaotic ER all the while avoiding getting involved with anything because he knows nothing about how to help anyone. Hiding out in his dad's office doesn't quite work. He has to go on rounds, which is hilarious. Actually, he makes himself look good and makes the interns feel good, and he cares about their feelings, and all of this is a success, and the interns love him. Until he has a serious medical problem to deal with and can't avoid it. Well, somehow it all works out, And then there is the board meeting where Chris learns a few things that need correcting, because a hospital should care about people, not money. Amazingly enough, in the second movie I watched, an actor named Chris plays a character doing the exact same thing when people think he is someone else.



The chaos continues for both dad and son. Chris demands that Jack keep the date, and it is torture for Jack to endure what passes for music at an Autograph concert. This is a big disappointment for Lori. Meanwhile, Chris experiences every teenager's fantasy ... or its it? More like a nightmare. And Ambrister isn't going to be happy about what his wife did.



So will Earl find the antidote? Yes, but it will be more of a challenge than we thought. And it will involve more patience than we thought. And more hilarious situations.



In the meantime, Jack must deliver a baby. Wait ... he's too YOUNG! But these people have no idea what's going on, and trust me, Chris is no help.



And one last adventure does not involve a car chase. It is just one car, driven recklessly, causing damage to itself and everything else as we must endure a band that put the heavy in metal, one that makes Autograph look like The Eagles. The editing is interesting because we keep going back and forth between two locations, and each time we see the car again, the "music" continues from where it left off.



As is often the case with movies like these, both guys learn a lot from the experience and improve their relationship with each other.



Dudley Moore is hilarious. This terrified and later excited teen in a middle aged man's body gets into so many wild situations. But he is very creative when he has to be and quite a schemer.



Sean Astin is great as the best friend, and why wouldn't he be? Look who his parents are. Well, that doesn't always mean success, but he has gone on to have quite a career, and here we can see why.



Kirk Cameron isn't that highly regarded, and he's no Mike Seaver here. If he has talent, that's the role where he showed it. Here, he's kind of ordinary, but he gets the job done. In the scene with the baby being born he really shines. There is also another kind of stereotypical scene where he goes beyond the usual, As a genius who has trouble with social interaction, he's no Iain Armitage, who is the master.



It's not a kids' movie. Some curse words were obviously changed for TV. Who says "dorkhead"? And there is one scene of a sexual nature which, if you remember this man is actually a teenager, is actually in terrible taste, but doesn't go overboard.



But cleaned up for TV as I saw it, I wouldn't say all kids should avoid it. It's pretty childish.



Yes, we've seen this sort of thing before? So what. They're all unique, if you really think about it.



And I had fun.