Review of Clifford (1994) by Tom R — 01 Feb 2012
(1 Star) I can't believe how many people over the years have begged me to watch Clifford, saying it's really funny... it's awful on so many levels. The main draw of the film is Martin Short as 10 year old Clifford.
He is annoying... that is an understatement. Annoying can be funny in small, concentrated doses, but annoying is NOT funny. Annoying is irritating, obnoxious, miserable, and extremely hard to stomach.
Repeat: ANNOYING IS NOT FUNNY! You can make it through the entire movie without laughing once, but the real challenge is not shutting it off. Clifford is not only annoying, he's demented and mean-spirited but since he's the title character in a comedy, you know he won't get any comeuppance.
The movie begins in the year 2050 and Clifford tells his hellacious story to a kid; this part of the film is completely pointless. Martin Daniels (Charles Grodin) wants to prove to his fiancee Sarah (Mary Steenburgen) that he likes kids so he takes care of Clifford for the week.
.. mean pranks, kidnapping, and bombings ensue, all in the form of unfunny jokes. Charles Grodin is a good actor and like Bill Murray, performs best when he sarcastic or annoyed... Grodin should be the perfect foil for a little bastard, but he shrieks most of his lines.
And I don't believe Martin Short as a 10 year old... Tom Hanks in Big is believable as a kid, but Short seems to play up the annoying parts of being 10 without the speech or innocence. Clifford blows big time.
This review of Clifford (1994) was written by Tom R on 01 Feb 2012.
Clifford has generally received mixed reviews.
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