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Problem Child 2

  • ️Sat Jun 15 2024

Problem Child 2 (Film)

Problem Child 2 is a movie released in 1991, serving as a continuation of the original Problem Child movie.

After the chaos ensued in the first film, Ben and Junior relocate to a new town and attempt to start their lives fresh. They both meet complications in doing so — Ben becomes highly sought after by LaWanda, a wealthy figure in town and a notorious man-eater and Child Hater, which spells trouble for Junior. Unfortunately, Junior already has his hands full at his new school, where among other things he has to contend with Trixie, the rare prankster kid with a sadistic streak to match his.

The movie largely retains the original cast, though the directorial rules were given to Brian Levant (this was, in fact, the first movie he directed) instead of Dennis Dugan. It was also shot in Orlando, Florida instead of Texas like the first movie. Notably, the augmented crude humor was done as a response to criticisms that the first movie received.

This film provides examples of:

  • Actor Allusion: One for James Tolkan (Mr. Thorn). One of the rules he has written on the blackboard is "No Slackers", which alludes to his similar role as Principal Strickland in Back to the Future.
  • Artistic License – Biology: There is no blood test for rabies (antibodies) on either dog or human. Tests are performed on saliva, spinal fluid and hair follicles, plus they only give the result when the human has active rabies - which means he or she will die almost 100% surely in the next 3-4 days.
  • Artistic License – Engineering: The Crazy Dance Scene. Normally, there would have been a kill switch in easy reach of the operator who could have shut the ride down for going too fast instead of simply gaping as he's shown to do. For that matter, the speed controls would likely be accessible only to him instead of simply being out in the open as they are. But then we wouldn't have a scene of unadulterated gross-out comedy.
  • Ash Face: Junior cranks up the propane tanks of his new neighbor's grill. He drops a match inside and reaches a hand inside the grill to get it going. The grill explodes with a fireball that can be seen from blocks across town and launches the guy across the yard and into the pool with one of these on his face. In real life, they'd be picking up pieces of him off the yard!
  • Bad Date: Junior has a bit of a problem adjusting to his dad trying to get him a new mom, and as a result sabotages two of his dates. This sets up the Cassandra Truth situation later in the movie where Junior is trying to get his dad not to marry LaWanda Dumore, a Rich Bitch Child Hater who has it in for him.
  • Bait-and-Switch: When the puppet show is overthrown by someone using very crude humor and foul language, Ben immediately thinks that Junior is responsible for this since this isn't unlike his usual antics. He's charging through to confront his son only to find Junior in the audience laughing at the puppet show...and Trixie being the one sabotaging the puppet show.

    Ben: Who are you?

    Trixie: Who the hell are you?

  • Be Careful What You Wish For: While on the Crazy Dance ride, Murph proclaims that it's going at "pansy speed" and insists it get pumped up. He gets his wish when Junior cranks the speed up to levels too much for him to handle. Along with everyone else on and nearby the ride.
  • Betty and Veronica: Annie is a sweet nurse who can relate to having a troublesome child, while LaWanda is more sultry and outgoing. (She's also a Rich Bitch and Child Hater, but Ben doesn't see this until the wedding.)
  • Big Bad: LaWanda Dumore, mostly. Trixie Young is more of a Decoy Antagonist.
  • Bowdlerise: According to the screenwriters, the initial cut received an R rating from the MPAA, but Universal Pictures dubbed over Junior saying "pussy-whipped" and got a PG-13 rating on appeal.
  • Brick Joke: Big Ben's "Millionaire Starter Kit" is a double-dipped example. Little Ben and Junior see a cheesy TV ad for the obvious scam, and in a later scene Junior calls Voytek, who's living in squalor with one of the kits sitting on the counter behind him. The gag comes back again when Big Ben moves in with them, lamenting that his scheme went bust and he only sold one starter kit.
  • Butt-Monkey: Primarily LaWanda. But all other Ben's dates take the brunt as well. Mr. Peabody is in several scenes. The School Teacher in one scene, not to mention Junior himself in one scene when he is outsmarted and hosed by Trixie. Ben Healy is in one scene. Big Ben Healy is in one to several scenes as well. Practically anyone under Junior's sly revengeful stunts.
  • Camping a Crapper: Junior throws dynamite down a toilet, causing all the toilets to explode, including one his teacher is using. The teacher wears a diaper for the rest of the film.
  • The Can Kicked Him: Junior throws dynamite down a toilet to stop Trixie's prank, causing all the toilets to explode, including one his teacher is using. The teacher wears a diaper for the rest of the film.
  • Child Hater: LaWanda Dumore. Cemented when she threatens to send Junior to boarding school in Baghdad (where there was a goddamn war on at the time the film was released!), out-and-out stated during the climax.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • While having dinner, Ben tells Annie about Big Ben's electoral downfall.
    • While looking for the kids, Annie asks if Junior's ever run away before. Ben lets out an embarrassed "Uh..." before changing the subject.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: LaWanda threatens to send Junior to Baghdad. Baghdad would probably get the worst of it.
  • Color-Coded Characters: Ben and Junior favor blue with a touch of red in their outfits, all of Big Ben's clothes are mostly green, just about everything LaWanda wears or owns is bright red, and Annie mostly wears white. The color motif enhances the more cartoony vibe of this movie when compared to the original.
  • Covered in Gunge:
  • Crying Wolf: Thanks to Junior chasing away all the decent women Little Ben tried to date, he won't listen to his accurate warnings about LaWanda.
  • Cute and Psycho: Trixie. Utterly adorable, wears pretty little dresses, and is the only kid in town with a sadistic streak to match Junior's.
  • Denser and Wackier: Not that the first movie was exactly grounded in reality to start with, but the sequel includes a lot more exaggerated mayhem and loud, campy stylistic choices to give it even more of a "live-action cartoon" feel.
  • Disappeared Dad: Nothing is ever mentioned on Trixie's father.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Junior's barred from an amusement park ride due to being about a millimeter too short. After he sees Trixie cheat her way in by wearing platform shoes, he decides to tamper with the ride's controls, causing it to spin much too fast. Sure, it only made everyone on the Crazy Dance throw up, but something much worse could have easily happened.
  • Distaff Counterpart: Trixie is every bit the prankster that Junior is. The difference is that Junior usually saves his material for people who wrong him or his father while Trixie causes chaos for her own amusement.
  • Dog Food Diet: Debbie Claukinski's ex-husband Voytek is in his rathole apartment eating Chow Down when Junior calls. Chow Down, which comes in Beef, Chicken, and Horse and made Nippy take a dump three times his size.
  • Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest: Ben starts dating Annie, played by Amy Yasbeck who also played his horrible wife in the first movie.
  • The Dragon: Big Ben Healy pushes his son to marry LaWanda so he can be rich again.
  • Entitled Bastard: Big Ben Healy was a lousy father, and even worse step-grandfather to Junior, yet has no problems using his son's home as a safe house from the SEC.
  • Explosive Overclocking: The Crazy Dance Sequence. Junior turns the machine up as far as it will go (why the ride's controls are so accessible in the first place is anyone's guess), resulting in a 2-minute barfing spree before the ride's machinery disintegrates in a shower of sparks and smoke.
  • Fake Rabies: An accidental example. At her hen party LaWanda greets two nurses right after eating a cream pie... And because Junior had previously swapped her blood sample with that of a rabid dog, the nurses take that as confirmation she's already showing symptoms and restrain her.
  • Fire Hose Cannon: Trixie uses the school's fire hose against Junior, pushing him across the entire hallway.
  • Flipping the Bird:
    • Junior is driving his dad home, and an unseen driver cuts him off. The kid knows how to make use of "the highway salute".
    • Trixie gives Junior one in the middle of the school hallway before running off.
  • Food Fight: Ticked off when Junior flicks an olive into the cleavage of Mr. Peabody's date at the pizzeria.
  • Gasshole: Mr. Peabody refuses to accept that Junior is actually in his school, and thinks it's just a bad dream. Junior challenges this notion, on the grounds that a bad dream couldn't fart at him - which Junior does, loudly.

    "If I was a figment of your imagination, could I do...this?"

  • Grade Skipper: Mr. Peabody skips Junior ahead to the sixth grade just so he can get him out of the school faster.
  • Guess Who I'm Marrying?: Ben nearly marries a child-hating millionairess. This continues the running theme of the first movie of him falling for less-than-savory women.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Trixie started out antagonizing Junior, but eventually, she ends up befriending him. It helps that they have common ambitions, such as hooking their parents up, and pranking awful adults who piss them off.
  • Held Back in School: Murph has been at the school for at least as long as his long-suffering teacher. He's practically an adult:

    Murph: "The kid doesn't know who he's talking to. I'm a senior student in this school."
    Junior: "No shit, you've been here since 1970!"

  • Hoist by Their Own Petard: Ben doesn’t believe Junior about LaWanda because of how Junior sabotaged all his dates before.
  • I Ate WHAT?!: When Junior is asked by two snotty twin girls to refill a pitcher of lemonade, he does so with urine. The twins' father, Aron Burger, takes a drink from it.
  • Jar Potty: Junior takes a whiz in order to refill a pitcher of lemonade for a pair of snobbish twin sisters that he wants to get back at. The twins' father, Aron Burger, is the one who ends up taking a sample of Junior's little concoction.
  • Jerkass: LaWanda. Including Big Ben Healy. Many of the kids are as well, especially towards Junior. Junior himself is a quite a bit of one in his own way.
  • Kick the Dog: When LaWanda learns of the "nightmare" of a kid that the man she wants to marry has, she says this regarding him: "When someone has a bum leg, you don't shoot the patient; you just cut off the leg." In addition, her introduction scene has her having some people from a nursing home thrown out onto the street, and when her assistant brings this up, she goes "Oh, boo hoo hoo!" in an extremely unsympathetic tone.
  • Kids Driving Cars:
    • Played with - in the wedding scene, Trixie crashes the party with a backhoe.
    • Junior himself takes over driving near the beginning when he and his dad are heading to Mortville, complete with him giving the "highway salute" to a driver who cuts him off.
  • Kids Play Matchbreaker: Junior sabotages Ben’s dates before LaWanda, one by phoning her Psycho Ex-Boyfriend, and another by getting her electrocuted. This ends up biting him in the butt later when LaWanda shows up.
  • Large Ham: LaWanda all the way. A man-eater and a scenery-chewer!
  • Lemonade Stand Plot: The twins Dolly and Madison are seen running a lemonade stand, charging 2 dollars a glass. They ask Junior to refill the jar, which he does by urinating in it.
  • Loud Gulp: Ben Healy gives one of these when asking Nurse Annie on a date out of nervousness.
  • Loud Sleeper Gag: Junior is forced to share his bunk bed with his step-grandad, Big Ben, whom not only is an obnoxious Jerkass, but snores very loudly. Junior first puts a sock into Big Ben's mouth, but the old man gags, spits it and starts snoring even louder. Junior then pulls his blanket, making him fall down.
  • Magic Plastic Surgery: Junior tried to avert the wedding of his father and LaWanda by having her get plastic surgery to get the world's biggest nose on the day of the wedding. LaWanda woke up and discovered her new nose. Then, just a few hours later, she reappeared with her original nose and she said that she had some "last-minute double-overtime plastic surgery". So, she had two surgeries, on the same body part, in the same day, with no scars.
  • Make a Wish: The purpose of the Love Rock. Subverted when Trixie just fulfills the wish herself.
  • Meal Ticket: Big Ben sees his son's rich fiancée LaWanda Dumore as this for himself; when his son dumps her, he is then convinced to marry her instead.
  • Mustache Vandalism: Junior, a little jealous of the attention his adoptive father is giving Annie Young, decides to deface her picture in this way. He's found by Trixie, her daughter (though he doesn't know it at that point) who is equal to him in being bad, who sternly warns him "I wouldn't do that if I were you." When Junior doesn't listen, Trixie floors him, says "Next time, you'll listen to me," and then draws a mustache on him with his own marker.
  • Mugging the Monster: In the opening scenes, as Junior and Ben drive into town, Junior uses a slingshot to pop a little girl's balloon, and lets out an Evil Laugh as they drive away. Unfortunately, that little girl was Trixie, and she'd make him pay dearly for that.
  • Nostalgia Filter: Subverted in the beginning when Junior calls out Little Ben's reminiscing of Cold River.

    Little Ben: "I used to have a lot of fond memories of this place."

    Junior: "Fond memories? What are you talking about? Everybody hated you! Your father, your wife, those horrible neighbors!"

  • Not Me This Time: During a puppet show at the school, things suddenly take an insulting turn. Ben is certain Junior's behind it and storms the stage while yelling, but he discovers it was actually Trixie. Then he sees that Junior was sitting in the front row the entire time and just enjoying the show.
  • Off to Boarding School: "Whether you like it or not, I am going to marry your daddy. And when I do, you will be on the first plane to boarding school — in Baghdad!"
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • Junior when he can't unfreeze Big Ben's dog. Nippy only gets unfrozen with the introduction of a new dog food called "Chow Down".
    • Trixie when her mother starts yelling at her for her stunt during the puppet show.
  • Oh, No... Not Again!: Trixie disrupts the wedding by using a bulldozer to move the Love Rock.

    Annie: Oh, how many times have I told you not to operate heavy machinery?

  • Parent with New Paramour: Junior actively resists any single women expressing interest in Ben, particularly LaWanda. (As noted above, his earlier stunts against the other women cause his very legitimate complaints about LaWanda to fall on deaf ears.) Trixie admits she's the same way with guys that approach Annie. The kids team up to get Ben and Annie together on the grounds that both are generally nice to them.
  • Persona Non Grata: For causing the massive food fight, Ben, Junior, Annie, and Trixie are banned for life from Pizzariffic. Ben snarks that's not nearly as severe as the waiter is trying to make it out to be.
  • Revenge Is a Dish Best Served: A scene has Junior doing this with a pitcher of lemonade that he was asked to refill by two snotty twin girls running a lemonade stand. He tops off the lemonade by peeing in it. Naturally the father of the snotty twin girls buys a glass and drinks it, describing it as tangy.
  • "The Scream" Parody: Principal Peabody lets one out upon seeing Junior enter his office.
  • Searching the Stalls: Trixie hides in the bathroom and stands on the toilet seats so her feet don't show. Junior looks underneath each stall and doesn't see her feet, but he isn't fooled.
  • Senseless Phagia: Two examples:
    • Junior urinates into a pitcher of lemonade and passes it off to an unsuspecting bystander.
    • Junior sets loose a cockroach army into his family’s dinner.
  • Serial Spouse: Lawanda Dumore already has had six husbands and immediately wants to make Ben Healy her seventh when he shows up at her bank (and for a visual gag, we see the photos of her with each one, and they're all portrayed by Ben's actor John Ritter).
  • Shipper with an Agenda:
    • Big Ben is pressuring his son to marry LaWanda so they can live off her money. He doesn't care when Ben realizes who he actually loves since the marriage could get them rich.
    • To prevent the marriage, Junior tries to set up Ben and Annie. In his defense, Annie is actually a nicer person, and Trixie's mother.
  • Skewed Priorities: While looking for their missing kids, Ben apologizes to Annie for Junior dragging Trixie into any trouble. Annie insists that Trixie causes plenty of trouble herself, leading to an arguement over who the bigger problem child is. They both soon lampshade how this is a very silly thing to argue about, especially at a time like this.
  • Sleep Cute: Junior and Trixie, at the foot of the Love Rock.
  • Speak in Unison: The twins Dolly and Madison speak like this, with a few exceptions when only one of them talks.
  • Squashed Flat: Subverted. The Love Rock rolls over LaWanda and seemingly flattens her, but she was merely pushed into the ground and the only injuries she suffers are to her pride.
  • Stating the Simple Solution: After one last attempt by Big Ben to talk his son into marrying LaWanda, Ben snaps back that if Big Ben likes her so much, he should marry her. Big Ben instantly realizes this isn't a bad idea.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: After the Vomit Chain Reaction resulting from the Crazy Dance going out of control, the machinery begins to smoke before breaking down in a spectacular shower of sparks and explosions. All in a day's work for Junior.
  • Suck E. Cheese's: Both families go there and a Food Fight breaks out.
  • Toilet Humor: The scene where a teacher rushes through the hall to the bathroom to take a dump, and it just so happens Junior just flushed Trixie's M80 down the drain.
  • Too Dumb to Live: LaWanda tries pulling a You Shall Not Pass! on a rolling boulder and gets crushed. She only survives by sheer luck.
  • Villainous Breakdown:
    • "Oh... Oh... I'M PINOCCHIOOOOOOOOO!"
    • Her real breakdown comes later when Trixie crashes the wedding with a backhoe carrying the Love Rock, which is when the mask concealing her Child Hater nature finally slips.

      LaWanda: I hate children! They've ruined everything! If I had enough power...I'd wipe them off the face of the earth! [Ben looks disgusted behind her]

  • Vomit Chain Reaction: Junior causes a massive one of these by playing with the speed controls for a theme park ride and thus causing everyone on it to get motion sick.
  • Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Every person at the fair (except Junior, who started this whole mess due to making the ride's speed go out of control) during the Crazy Dance scene. When one gets motion sick and barfs, the rest follows...
  • Vulgar Humor: The movie has a lot of crude humor compared to the first.
  • We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: There's a patriotic puppet show suddenly hijacked, with the Uncle Sam puppet explaining "We are experiencing technical difficulties," and the bald eagle puppet chiming in with "Yeah — I had to scratch my balls!" The crowd is actually entertained for a change, and bursts into laughter. Naturally, Ben assumes that Junior is the culprit, but he's not.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: One of Ben's dates, Emily, gets electrocuted when Junior rewires the doorbell to Ben's house. When Ben answers the door, Emily's hair is standing straight up, she's giving off sparks, smoke is coming out of her mouth and her dress is in shreds. She manages to stammer out an apology, turns around, and then falls face first onto the front walkway of the house seconds after Ben closes the door. At no time does Ben appear to realize Emily is in need of medical attention, and nothing is ever said about what happened to her after she collapsed in Ben's front yard, or even if she survived.
  • Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Played straight, unlike the first movie. The movie was shot in Orlando, Florida, but there are no hints as to which state the city of "Mortvillle" is supposed to be found in, aside from the fact that it takes two full days of travel, with plentiful stops for food and souvenirs, and an overnight drive to get there from Cold River (which, based on one small but important clue, was located in Illinois).
  • Why Don't You Marry It?: A rare example where this is meant and taken seriously. It's the standard set up - Nice Guy Ben is betrothed to the Rich Bitch Lawanda, but there's a Nice Girl Annie, so their kids hook them up and crash the arranged wedding. Ben's father needs Lawanda's money to fund his failing enterprise, so he demands that his son marries her, to which Ben suggest that he marries her instead. He does, and it all ends to mutual satisfaction.
  • Why Waste a Wedding?: LaWanda is Ben Healy's fiancée, but she decides to marry Ben's father instead when the wedding is crashed.
  • Win-Win Ending: Everybody gets exactly what they wanted or needed in the end: Ben and Annie hook up, Junior and Trixie are best pals (and maybe even step-siblings, eventually), LaWanda finds herself a more suitable new hubby in Big Ben, and Big Ben gets a sugar mama to punch his Meal Ticket.
  • You Must Be This Tall to Ride: During the fair scene, Junior tries to get on the Crazy Dance ride, but is told that he has to be as tall as the tentacle, which he just barely isn't ("But it's only a millimeter!"). To add insult to injury, Trixie, who's much shorter then him, manages to get in by putting on platform shoes.