Bad Movie Friday 1: North, but not by northwest

Welcome to The Movie House's first ever Bad Movie Friday. Every Friday that I can remember to do it, I will be featuring a movie that is considered by most to have been bad. 

This week's movie was so bad that when Roger Ebert reviewed it he gave his most famous review, stating "I hated this movie. I hated, hated, hated, hated, hated it..."

That's right this week's movie is none other than North.

North (1994)

Directed by Rob Reiner

Notable cast: Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Lovitz, Abe Vigoda, Dan Akyroyd, Alan Arkin, Reba McEnrire, and Kathy Bates

Plot: North(Elijah Wood) grows tired of how his parents(Dreyfus and Alexander) seem to have no time for him, since they are too busy with their own lives. So North decides to divorce them, and become a "free agent" that allows him to travel the world to find the perfect family.

What went wrong: Prior to this film, Rob Reiner could do no wrong as a director. As the director of This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally, hopes were high that he could lead this all- star cast to another hit. The movie turned into a critical and commercial failure. 

Why? Part of the problem lies with its release date. It was released July 22, 1994, one week after Angels in the Outfield, the same week as the remake of Lassie, a week before Black Beauty and The Mask, and two weeks before The Little Rascals. Needless to say, the market was flooded with children's and family movies that were either more anticipated or better reviewed than it was. 

That isn't the whole of the problem, some of it has to fall on Reiner and writer Alan Zweibel. The whole plot of the movie was silly and not in a good way. Most of the families he went to visit were poor stereotypes of the regions he visited. The villian, twist, and ending were terrible. But, the worst offense, by far, was having Bruce Willis as the Easter Bunny/ Voice of reason. 

Redeeming Qualities: There are few, but there are some. 

First, what kid didn't want the chance to travel the world to find a new family. That, though poorly executed, connected with the target audience.

Second, a younger generation was introduced to good actors who normally do more adult (adult, not pornographic) movies. Willis, Bates, Arkin, and Vigoda are still more famous for their more adult roles, but there are some people who got their first glance of them from this movie.

Third and final, this was the first time Scarlett Johansson was seen on a movie screen.

Aftermath:

Elijah Wood was riding high as one of America's top child stars when this movie came out. He followed it up with two more questionable movies, The War and Flipper, but found redemption with a part in The Ice Storm. His role as The Artful Dodger in Disney's made for TV Oliver twist was well received. He would completely shed his child-star label when The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring premiered.

Rob Reiner followed this movie up with the romantic-comedy The American President and the drama Ghosts of Mississippi. Though both moves and later ones were mostly well received, he hasn't been able to recreate the success he experienced before it. He has also been regularly seen in front of the camera, most recently in The Wolf of Wall Street and the TV series The New Girl.

Scarlett Johansson not only made an appearance in this movie, but she was also in another movie that will probably make an appearance here, Home Alone 3. Those movies would prove to be the exception. She would go on to star in critically acclaimed movies, the Horse Whisperer, Ghostworld, and Lost in Translation. She has since become one of the best and most profitable actresses of her generation.

 

The rest of the all-star cast showed little to no impact from appearing in this movie, aside from a few jokes and Razzie nominations.

My Judgement: Was this movie as bad as it was made out to be? No. Was it a good movie? Also no.

It was and still is a below average movie that came out in an excellent year for movies. 1994 brought us The Crow, Speed, The Lion King, Forrest Gump, Angels in the Outfield, Ed Wood, Pulp Fiction, and The Shawahank Redemption. There is no way North could compare to those movies, but is it the worst of 1994? Here's a look at some of the other movies released that year: Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Cabin Boy, Car 54 Where Are You?, Exit to Eden, Wagons East, Clifford, and Lightning Jack. Compared to these, North doesn't seem too bad.

So how bad is it: 4.4 IMDB, 15% Rotten Tomatoes Critic, 28% RT public and 1.9 out of 5 Movie House score.

Mostly bad but I would watch for nostalgia reasons. 

Do you agree or disagree, comment to let me know.