were-skwerl Review of Jimmy the Kid

Jimmy the Kid (1982)

Don Adams in a dress...What more could you want?

[16 November 2011]

Like one of the above reviewers, I, too, watched this movie on HBO every chance I could, in my early teen years. Basically you have an all star cast: You have Gary Coleman, who I thought was always kind of annoying no matter what movie or program he was in. You have Pat Morita, who didn't have much to work with here, you had Cleavon Little, of "Blazing Saddles" fame, you had Dee Wallace, who took a break from doing horror movies to play a ditzy blond. You had Paul Le Mat, who would gain real attention with "The Burning Bed" You had Ruth Gordon, who seemed to play the same character as she did in "Every Which Way But Loose" You had Walter Olkewicz, who plays a dumb, but lovable petty thief, and last but certainly not least, we have Don Adams, who simply plays the same type character that made him famous in "Get Smart" In fact, this movie could have been written by the "Get Smart" writers. You'll probably disagree, but, in my opinion, Adams seemed to do 75% of the work in this movie. The movie seems almost quaint by today's standards, there are times when the actors have to rely on one-liners or sight gags to pass the time, but I still watch it (I have it in my collection) I don't think this movie was ever a commercial success, though. One sad note: A lot of the stars have passed away; Coleman, Little, Gordon, Adams, Morita and also Avery Schrieber, who played Coleman's shrink, They're all gone! This movie was shown maybe once on TV, and then it kind of disappeared into the vortex of forgotten movies. Aside from salty language, it's a family friendly movie that avoids raunch and bodily-function jokes, which modern comedies rely on, so heavily!