Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

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Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Sintz49 I was surprised to see that the IMDB collective viewer rating wasn't lower; but even more surprised that most of the written reviews were high. I caught this film on cable tv, late at night, and gave it a look. Though Beth-Williams "Natalie's" and O'Neill's "Dutch" were presented as caring for each other, it was not really shared with us, except as a contrasted to the awful ex-husband's connection. I stayed tuned in, in expectation for more evidence of closeness and growth for them. Next up, the meeting of Dutch and Doyle, the son, was violent, but was presented as "comedy". As the meanness continued, I kept thinking that Dutch might later surprise me, and being the "adult", he'd learn more, and share that with the boy. Or, maybe the boy would inadvertently share his own buried softer side with Dutch, who'd then grow and share. I doubted Doyle could learn anything from Dutch's rampaging self-indulgence. If Dutch did grow more selfless and caring, I only saw it in a few occasionally warmer smiles (not those other glaring smiles he pushed onto Doyle). I welcomed the scene where Dutch tried to entertain Doyle with a private fireworks display. In this scene, the camera work seemed disconnected: it showed Dutch smiling, as in trying to get the kid to laugh along, too; but the jump cuts to the car then showed Doyle only looking at the dashboard. Yes, he looked at and liked the lights, but (based on the camera work) only when Doyle was being distracted by them too . I drew back, into my hope-wait-and-see posture. As Doyle and Dutch began to fall into a shared predicament, and were stranded out in the cold, I felt they might finally draw closer. Then, in a scene at a shelter for homeless folks, Doyle warmed up inside, making a kind gesture to one of the children. The child's mother (played so well, tho' very briefly, by L. Scott Caldwell) responded very lovingly to Doyle before he slept, and I thought the uplifting changes I'd hoped for him (and for Dutch) would finally kick in. It really never seemed to though. The ending prompted me to imagine a sequel. That 2nd movie would pick up after this film's final moment. In it, Dutch's JOY in inflicting some new pain on Doyle, would be responded to appropriately by his mother. Probably not a comedy this time. Overall, Natalie, and Dutch showed no signs to me of being close in any way. They may have each wanted some "good" things, but probably not the same things. At least Dutch got the son home. But Doyle's love of mom may have been discovered as a judgmental response to Dutch's behavior, and not really as a credit to Dutch's "help". Very few laughs for me.

gavin6942 To get to know his girlfriend's son (Ethan Embry), a working-class good guy (Ed O'Neill) volunteers to pick him up from a prep school -- only to learn that her son is not the nicest kid.This film has an impressive pedigree. The director, Peter Faiman, is not well known, but he was the director of "Crocodile Dundee", which makes him a small legend. And the writer was John Hughes, a giant in the industry."Dutch" received extremely poor reviews from critics, where it has a 14% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 3.7 out of 10 from 21 reviews. It was also a flop at the box office, grossing less than $5 million compared to its $17 million budget. Despite poor reception from critics, the film has garnered a cult following (as is common for Hughes films).

makiprettywoman3 "It's like Home Alone with Bart Simpson." I think that is a good description of this movie. To get to know his girlfriends son he picks him up from school. Of course the kid is bratty and a lot like Bart Simpson. This is one of those movies written by John Hughes who wrote a lot of classic movies such as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueler's Day Off, Home Alone and those classic National Lampoon movies.This is not a movie I remember as a kid. It must have not been very popular in the movie theaters. Some of the stuff in this movie is over the top but otherwise this is a pretty good movie. The movie starts out a little slow.

grendelkhan Dutch is another in the long line of films from John Hughes (though not the director here). It's not quite at the same level as Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink, but it is a charming little film in its own right.The film features Ed O'Neil (then appearing on Married with Children) as Dutch Dooley, an unpretentious blue-collar kind of guy, who is dating Jo Beth Williams. Williams is divorced from the wealthy and royal (expletive) Christopher McDonald (playing another in a long line of jerks). McDonald still holds a grudge against his ex, since she found the courage to walk away from him. He gets back at her through controlling her access to money and via the (undeserved) adoration of their son, Doyle. Doyle attends a prestigious boy's school in Virginia. After Willams tries to get Doyle to come home for the holidays, and receives and nasty rejection, Dutch offers to travel to the school and bring Doyle home, giving them a chance to bond.Doyle is a spoiled little (expletive) learning well the lesson of his very absent father. He has no friends, but seems to have no desire for any. Enter Dutch and a battle of wills ensues. Dutch is determined to make friends with the boy, though he quickly finds that it is a tall order. And so, a road trip begins, complete with fireworks, accidents, prostitutes, robbery, and little acts of kindness that slowly start to chink away at Doyle's armor.O'Neil is the star here, ably portraying the working class Dutch. He is a self made man, who is proud of his background and doesn't have time for Doyle's spoiled rich antics, nor his useless father. He attempts to educate Doyle on the ways of the real world, especially those of the common man, who Doyle seems to hold in utter contempt. O'Neil never plays it too far over the top, nor too seriously. he strikes the right balance of humor and drama, letting expression and body language carry as much of the performance as dialogue.Ethan Embry proves to be up to working with a solid character man like O'Neil. He has Doyle down to a tee, making him thoroughly unlikeable and pompous. Bit by bit, the facade starts to fade and we see the smiling young boy depicted in a prised photo (of Doyle and his mother, but kept safely tucked away, lest he admit having feelings). Doyle is truly touched by the kindness of people that he previously sneered at, especially in some wonderful (if manipulative) scenes in a homeless shelter. Doyle soon comes to realize that Dutch, in just a couple of days, has been more of a father than his biological one (who can't be bothered to return a phone call).Jo Beth Williams and Christopher McDonald have the smaller parts, but make the most of their scenes. You believe that Williams truly loves her son, no matter how he treats her. McDonald plays a complete scumbag, but you still enjoy his performance enough to want to see him pop back in, if only to get his comeuppance.As is typical of Hughes, the emotions are heavily manipulated and the scenes pander to the audience, but the performances lift them above the cliché and the emotions seem earned. The journey along the road provides some excellent scenery, as they pass through the Southern mountains and make their way to the upper Midwest, showcasing scenery that Hollywood often ignores. The film is uneven in parts, but the characters are enjoyable enough to forgive this.In the end, Dutch is a movie that was somewhat ignored in its time; just another John Hughes film, with the same gags. This is probably due to the less than stellar marketing, which tried to make O'Neil's Dutch look more like Al Bundy. It's a shame, as the film deserved better. It is well worth checking out, assuming you can find it. The DVD release came and went almost as quietly as the movie. If you find it, though, watch it!