Too loose - directionless

Rating: Null/10 (6 April 2000)

Bruce Willis does a hell of a job as usual, and the kid is UNREAL! All the performances are just unbelievable. But why all the fringes on the plot? It was as though there was a given timeslot and non-central characters had to be overdeveloped and tributary story elements padded out so it would all jell down [the business with the antique jewelry, the guy working with - and on - Mrs. Crowe (Malcolm: "keep going, Cheesedick!").] All superfluous, bigtime, to paraphrase an equally excess character, young Tom, of the TV ad. You can just visualize the writer agonizing: "Well, I've got a block here on working through the central theme, so I'll dish up some side work here to throw in for good measure..."