Problem Child 3: Junior in Love
Problem Child 3 (also known with the subtitle Junior in Love) is a 1995 made-for-television Black comedy film directed by Greg Beeman and written by Michael Hitchcock. It is the third and final installment of the Problem Child trilogy created by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. The film premiered on NBC on May 13, 1995. It is the only film in the series not to receive a theatrical release.
| Problem Child 3 | |
|---|---|
 Dutch DVD cover | |
| Genre | Comedy Family |
| Based on | Characters by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski |
| Written by | Michael Hitchcock |
| Directed by | Greg Beeman |
| Starring |
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| Music by | David Michael Frank |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Robert Simonds Brian Levant Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski |
| Producer(s) | Anthony Santa Croce |
| Cinematography | Peter Smokler |
| Editor(s) | Mallory Gottlieb |
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Telvan Productions The Robert Simonds Company MTE |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release |
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| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Problem Child 2 |
However, it sets off in an entirely different direction from the second film. Junior is a preteen and is infatuated with a girl named Tiffany. However, she does not notice him. Things take a mischievous turn when he finds out there are three other boys interested in her as well. In this installment, he is portrayed by Justin Chapman replacing Michael Oliver and Ben is portrayed by William Katt replacing John Ritter. Neither Annie (Amy Yasbeck) nor Trixie (Ivyann Schwan) appear in it, nor are they mentioned. Gilbert Gottfried and Jack Warden are the only cast members to appear in all three films (with Gottfried being the only one appearing in the films and the animated series). Eric Edwards reprises his role as "Murph" from the second film. The film neither explains how Big Ben is still rich, since his apparent new wife, LaWanda Dumore, is never mentioned, nor how Mr. Peabody went from being a school principal to a dentist.
Plot
Junior Healy tells a story from multiple drawings in a coloring book, and it switches to his classroom where he is told by Miss Hicks that he got an "F" for not finishing his science project, and he mentions that "it's all about sound waves", and the bell rings, causing a set of traps to trigger, and her to fall out a window. The audience is told that Murph, one of his classmates, ratted him out, and the principal called his dad, Ben, prompting him to take him to get help. They meet Sarah Gray, a therapist who tests him, and decides that he needs some activities to do, such as Boy Scouts, sports and ballroom dancing. Junior takes this harshly, and does not approve of these options.
He is taken to a dance school, run by Lila Duvane, a tyrannical debutante, and hates it at first; then he meets Tiffany, a pretty little girl recently moved to town, but Murph — who had asked him to dance with his sister, Bertha — informs him that three boys, Prairie Dog Scout Duke Philim, bad boy and roller hockey team's captain Blade, and flamboyant child star Corky McCullum, have already laid claim. Junior tries to proclaim his love to Tiffany, but fails miserably. At school, he is given a new teacher, the overbearing Mr. Burtis, who he traps in the same way he did to Miss Hicks. In his victory, Junior bites into an apple and feels pain. He and Ben go to a dentist's office where it is discovered by the infamous Igor Peabody that he needs braces. Ben asks his father, Big Ben, for a $5,000 loan, which leads to disappointing results.
After meeting the trio and Tiffany, Junior decides to pursue scouting under Scoutmaster Eugene Phlim, also Duke's father. Afterwards, he decides to enroll in hockey. He gets beaten by Blade's team (a scene shows his gear flying up into the air after a critical hit, a parody of the first film). He then takes part in a Peter Pan play, where Corky is the star and Junior is stuck playing a weed. Ben meets Sarah at Big Ben's, and it is discovered that she was dating Phlim, and subsequently broken up with him. Meanwhile, after Corky rudely mocks Junior about his braces, Junior sneaks on to the horse grounds at Corky's mansion and uses a slingshot on Corky's horse, causing it to rear and hurl Corky into the pool.
When Junior comes back to get his braces tightened, he gets his revenge for his humiliation he received from them by releasing laughing gas that knocks Peabody and his nurse, Kiki, unconscious. They later wake up wearing braces, with her tied to the patient chair and him hanging from the ceiling fan.
Junior begins his plan of getting even with the three boys for bullying him. During the hockey tournament, Junior beats everyone of the opposing team players, and strikes Blade with a puck (quickly after sticking superglue on his mask). After this, he is banned for life, and then, in the production of Peter Pan, he traps Corky by distracting the janitor, and pulling the rope attached to the suspension harness and crashing it down, severely injuring Corky and Duvane. Finally, seeking revenge for seeing Sarah, Philm and Duke challenges Ben and Junior to a relay race. Junior sabotages every obstacle on their side, and they win.
Duke, Blade and Corky are all seriously injured and terrified of Junior, who finally tries to spend some time with Tiffany. However, she turns out to be a rich, spoiled brat. He pranks her by tying the sash ribbon on her dress to a statue, and as she walks forward, it rips off. In her underwear, embarrassed and laughed at, she runs out crying, and Bertha, blaming Junior, chases after her. Junior finds a kinder girl, dressed as a witch and also wearing braces.
Like the beginning, he depicts everyone in a coloring book, and signs off with a "So long, suckers!" as the words "The End" pop up.
Cast
- William Katt as Ben Healy
- Justin Chapman as Junior Healy
- Sherman Howard as Scoutmaster Eugene Phlim
- Carolyn Lowery as Sarah Gray
- Eric Edwards as Murph / Bertha
- Jennifer Ogletree as Tiffany
- Blake McIver Ewing as Corky McCullum
- Brock Pierce as Duke Phlim
- Jake Richardson as Blade
- Gilbert Gottfried as Dr. Igor Peabody who is Junior's second archenemy. Mostly he uses three jobs from the trilogy, from running the orphanage, elementary school principal and dentist.
- Jack Warden as Big Ben Healy who is Junior's wealthy grandfather who treats Junior and his son Ben like dirt and mean. He is Junior's first archenemy.
- Ellen Albertini Dow as Lila Duvane
- Marianne Muellerleile as Miss Hicks
- Bruce Ed Morrow as Mr. Burtis
- Jacqueline Obradors as Conchita
- Kelli Thacker as Nurse Kiki
- Rance Howard as the Janitor
Availability
The film never received a North American home media release but has a region 2 DVD release.