Mr. Wilson's ever-present annoyance comes in the form of one mischievous kid named Dennis. But he'll need Dennis's tricks to uncover a collection of gold coins that go missing when a shady drifter named Switchblade Sam comes to town.
Most children will get a kick out of it, although adults roped into accompanying their offspring may find themselves yearning to escape through the nearest exit.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Those good qualities are undermined, unfortunately, by the Switchblade Sam character, who is dirty, threatening and scary.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Mr. Hughes and Mr. Castle try hard to re-create a kind of timeless, idealized comic-strip atmosphere, but except for the performances of Lea Thompson and Robert Stanton... nobody in the movie seems in touch with the nature of the comedy.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
Very young children may find the numskull, by-the-numbers gags here amusing, but teens will consider this kids' stuff and adults will be pained.
– Todd McCarthy,
Variety,
22 Jul 2008
rotten:
Its unholy mixture of peppy sadism and pious, self-righteous sentiment comes straight from Hughes' crabbed cinematic heart.