Review of Clifford (1994) by Freddie F — 02 Apr 2010

The film community including the fans and viewers often single out and discard particular films as absolute rubbish. Why, I can't say. Perhaps when a quirky comedy is made, sits in a can for years and then it released to be a commercial flop people can't help but hate it.

"Clifford" stars Martin Short, not a large red canine. Short plays a ten year old boy and the camera angles used to create his height and size are a creative high-point of the film. Basically, he's a problem child and he causes his Uncle Martin a whole lot of trouble. The movie is quirky and bizarre and probably one of the biggest reasons why it is so widely despised. I am to assume you need a certain sense of humor to 'get' "Clifford", but I don't know what sense that is. I guess you just have to like weird things.

I find myself using words like 'guess', 'assume' and 'perhaps' a lot as I'm writing this, but it's just because I can't imagine why this movie is so hated. If you like Pee Wee, I can't believe you'd hate Clifford. Short does an excellent job in this role, portraying the perfect grown-up's version of an evil child. He's sweet and sincere only so he can be manipulative and get what he wants...in this case a trip to a dinosaur themed amusement park. I can't say anything else except that Martin Short is hilarious.

Some of the dialogue is totally original, snappy and creative while other times you just have to roll with the punches and laugh at the joke you're ashamed to.

Sure, you can hate "Clifford", it's basically the hip thing to do. Just realize it isn't bad...it's original and creative AND funny. Did I mention how funny it is?