Every once in awhile a movie will come along that tries to play off old clichés like It's a Wonderful Life. A few succeed, but rarely do they have an original premise. The Kid is one of those few exceptions. Just mysterious enough to keep adults guessing, and humorous enough for everyone else, it's generally a fun movie with only a few flaws. Russell Duritz (Bruce Willis) is the kind of guy who has it altogether except for his attitude. As an "independent image consultant," he is used to giving people advice. This high-profile job has gotten him recognition, praise, and a huge condo full of expensive toys. But it's also done a number on his personality, turning him into The Grinch Next Door. Even his loyal camera girl, Amy, has a hard time liking him sometimes.

Russell's father has been reaching out to make amends for past problems, but our all around jerk has no intention of patching up the relationship. Instead, he books first-class tickets and gives a wrestling pro a hard time over gaining a few pounds. His overworked, underpaid and little-appreciated secretary Janet is just about ready to throw him and his cell phone through the nearest window when something happens to change Russell's life forever. After a hard day of work, he comes home to find that his house has been broken in to... by a kid. Witnessing some bizarre phenomena, Russell concludes that it's stress and begs his therapist for something to make the hallucinations go away. But the kid comes back... in fact, he moves in. Russell finds something creepy and familiar about the kid who calls himself "Rusty" (Spencer Breslin). 

The single possibility is too incredible to believe... that this child is himself, somehow transported through time. But for what purpose? All the kid does is demean his job, rag on the fact that he doesn't have a dog, and calls him a "chick-less, dog-less looser." I'm sure you can see where this is going, but it takes a few unexpected twists and turns along the way. The Kid is the kind of movie that's a lot of fun while it lasts, but leaves only a few lingering thoughts to ponder when the credits roll. It's on the same wave length with Disney's The Princess Diaries and The Rookie... for the most part, family-friendly if slightly sarcastic. This one is a bit more mean-spirited than the others, if only for its constant demeaning of the character of Russell... even if it is by alternate egos. I was a little disturbed by all the "jerk," "loser," "fat boy" insults flying about.

Bruce Willis seems to have ignored the unspoken law of Hollywood: "don't work with children or animals." He's gone straight from Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense to Spencer Treat Clark in Unbreakable, and now to Spencer Breslin in The Kid. But the nice thing is that Willis holds his own. He's a total, complete jerk... and yet we can't help liking him. His secretary is downright hilarious, and even Amy gets in a few good lines in between the banter and thematic climax. Content-wise, aside from the insults mentioned above, The Kid is fairly light. There are a few gay jokes and some mildly crude dialogue (a woman sarcastically remarks that she should have worn her "magic bra and panties," and a mention is made of "fart bubbles"). There is some mild abuse of deity and the expression "Holy Moses." The guys are shown from behind standing at urinals. In addition, the whole premise never explains itself. With Frequency, the film it's been compared with, at least we knew how it happened. The Kid never gives us the whole picture. If you can overlook some minor flaws and stomach a few insults, The Kid is a fun, funny and almost intelligent movie that isn't afraid to laugh at itself. Not for everyone, but it will touch a few hearts.