Clifford

Plot

At a Catholic school in 2050, elderly priest Father Clifford Daniels catches a boy named Roger attempting to run away after blowing up the gym because he was not allowed on a basketball team, as his parents forbid Roger from partaking in any contact sports. To dissuade Roger from running away, Clifford tells the boy a story of his own youth, stating that "when people like you and I get frustrated, it can cause a lot of damage".

As a 10-year-old in the 1990s, Clifford is a troublemaker who never lets go of his toy Brachiosaurus named Steffen and is obssessed with visiting Dinosaur World, a theme park in Los Angeles. While flying with his parents to Honolulu on his father Julian's business trip, Clifford intentionally causes the pilot to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles and is subsequently banned from the flight.

To be able to resume the trip, on a suggestion by Clifford himself, Julian phones his brother Martin to have Clifford temporarily stay with him. Martin accepts, thinking this as the perfect opportunity to prove to his fiancée Sarah Davis how well he interacts with children, unaware of Clifford's antics. Upon their reunion, Martin reveals to Clifford that he designed Larry the Scary Rex, a Dinosaur World attraction, and thus can get into the park free of charge. Martin promises to take him there, but has to break it the next day when his boss Gerald Ellis orders Martin to redesign his plans for the city's public transit system in two days. At a gas station, Clifford attempts to sneak away by posing as someone else's son in a dinosaur costume, but Martin catches him. As a punishment, Martin tells Clifford the Dinosaur World trip is canceled.

Enraged, Clifford humiliates Martin during Sarah's parents' wedding anniversary with several pranks, culminating in Martin's arrest after Clifford calls in a fake bomb threat to city hall, made from mixing audio of Martin's previous scolding with an answering machine. Released on bail, Martin scolds him again, insisting that he write a confession to the police. Clifford later tricks Martin into catching a train to San Francisco, where Sarah has traveled on the request of Ellis attempting to seduce her. Back at Martin's home, Clifford throws a party for strangers in exchange for a trip to Dinosaur World. When Martin returns home, he boards an already (self) tied-up Clifford up in his room; Sarah later frees him and takes him with her. As Martin arrives late to Ellis's presentation of the new transit system, the city model, rigged by Clifford, explodes, costing Martin his job.

A now psychotic Martin kidnaps Clifford and takes him to Dinosaur World after closing hours, and makes him ride Larry the Scary Rex. After going through it once, Clifford seems to enjoy himself, so Martin increases the ride's speed repeatedly. When set to hyper speed, the ride malfunctions and Clifford's cart crashes, leaving him dangling above the jaws of a robotic dinosaur. Martin rants about what Clifford's antics have cost him, but he eventually risks his life and rescues him. Clifford apologizes, but Martin will not hear it, and calls him a force of destruction that eventually everyone gets to hate.

Father Clifford tells Roger how he was devastated to hear those words, and how it forced him to see the error of his ways ("If you destroy everyone who stands in the way of your dreams, then you'll end up alone with no dreams left"). He had sent 287 apology letters to Martin, which were returned unopened. When Roger asks about what happened to Sarah, Clifford reveals that she and Martin were married, and he was invited as the ring bearer. Through a gesture from Sarah, Martin finally forgives Clifford and gives him a kiss on the head.

Moved by the tale, Roger decides to write 287 letters asking for forgiveness. Father Clifford takes Steffen out of his pocket, saying "Mission accomplished, old friend."

Production

Co-writer Steven Kampmann had the idea of doing a comedy version of The Bad Seed (1956). The film was greenlit by Orion Pictures, but producer Larry Brezner was concerned that there was another comedy about an evil child coming out, Problem Child, and put a halt to production. To distinguish Clifford, Kampmann suggested the child lead be played by Martin Short, who was a fan of The Bad Seed. Kampmann and Short filmed screen tests with Short as Clifford, and Orion liked the footage. Kampmann was hired as director, but disagreements emerged between him and other members of the creative team, and Orion brought in Paul Flaherty (from Short's old series SCTV days) to replace him.

Grodin claimed that he and Short improvised during the making of the movie.

In August 1990, it was reported that filming would be taking place in Los Angeles.

Filming on Clifford took place from September through November of 1990.

In order to create the illusion of Martin Short portraying a child various techniques were utilized. With the actors working around Short, some such as Mary Steenburgen wore high-heeled shoes while others such as Charles Grodin were cast because they were above average in height in relation short. For shots of Clifford from the back, a five-foot-even body double was utilized. Prop work was also used to convey the illusion with pictures and wall decor raised when Short was next to them or lowering chairs or enlarging a bed when necessary. For the scene in which Clifford appeared seated on an airplane with his parents, Short's seat cushion was removed.

Clifford's release was delayed by the bankruptcy of Orion Pictures. The film was not released until April 1994, a year in which the highest-grossing comedies were The Mask and Dumb and Dumber, and enthusiasm for marketing it was low.

Release

The film was theatrically released on April 1, 1994. The film would not receive a home video release for ten years until March 2, 2004.

Reception and legacy

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 20% of 35 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ill-conceived and desperately unfunny, Clifford stars Martin Short as a 10-year-old boy. You read that correctly. That's the joke." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Roger Ebert gave the film a half-star of a possible four. He wrote: "The movie is so odd, it's almost worth seeing just because we'll never see anything like it again. I hope."

He and his colleague Gene Siskel gave Clifford "Two thumbs down" on their television show At the Movies, with particular criticism towards Martin Short's casting; Siskel likened him to "a wizened little dwarf".

Desson Thomson for The Washington Post praised Grodin but said everything else was "an awful piece of business"; Variety called it "gimmicky" and "poorly conceived".

Clifford has since gained a reputation as a cult film to the point of being reappraised by pop culture writer Nathan Rabin and Entertainment Weekly senior editor Josh Wolk. Martin Short later said, "I remember going to a critics' screening, sitting at the back, and the place was raucous. And yet the reviews did not reflect that. ... I think when a film is obscure enough, you feel it's now yours. Your parents don't know this film, but you do." Short has said he gets more recognition from people for Clifford than any other film he's done and described it as "most bizarrely original movies I’ve ever made".

Year-end lists

6th worst – Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune

Top 10 worst (not ranked) – Betsy Pickle, Knoxville News-Sentinel

Top 12 worst (Alphabetically ordered, not ranked) – David Elliott, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Dishonorable mention – Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News

Worst (not ranked) – Bob Ross, The Tampa Tribune

#2 Worst - Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Previews