Review of Catch That Kid (2004) by Thequietgamer — 08 Mar 2017

Escapist fantasy for the pre-pubescent. There's a novel idea here. Take the typical heist movie, something usually reserved for adults, and turn it into a more kid-friendly affair with some charming young leads. While I wasn't the biggest fan of it as a kid, I remember thinking it wasn't too shabby. I still kind of think that today. It's just that now the flaws are a little more noticeable to me (curse getting older!).

Everything you would expect to see from a heist movie is in Catch That Kid. You've got your death-defying stunts, computer hacking, and even a high-speed car chase. Only now it's done with 13 years old and go-karts. This all leads to an intentional sense of absurdity and a knowing, tongue in cheek style. Suspension of disbelief is definitely required for just about anyone over the age of 12, but the movie is definitely in on the joke so it's a little easier to swallow.

Of course the whole things runs on the old "all adults are idiots" rule that so many movies that put in the kids in the hero roles rely on. The adults are only just enough of a nuisance to slow the kids down, but not smart enough to actually stop them. The biggest threat they encounter are two bumbling security guards who, as expected, are little more than comic relief. This is basically where the movie's biggest flaw comes to light. With the majority of the people onscreen being the butt of the joke, you'd think the people behind the movie would made sure that joke was funnier. A lot of the movie is trying to get by on laughs. There are gags for the kids, and knowing winks to their parents to hopefully elicit some chuckles. The problem is that almost all of the movie's attempts at humor fall flat. It's also not entirely clear why. It could be the delivery, the direction, or just the fact that the writing itself isn't very good. Whatever the case, even when I saw this as a kid when it first came out I distinctly remember not laughing much.

Still, it's not an awful movie. Sure, the concept is perhaps a bit stupid, and it's definitely not as funny as it wants to be, but it's still entertaining enough for the kids. Parents might even be able to get through it just do to the delightfully cheesy nature of, well, everything. It also helps that they just don't make movies like this anymore. I'll let you decide whether or not that's a good thing.