Clifford (film)

Not to be confused with Clifford the Big Red Dog (film) or Clifford's Really Big Movie.

Clifford
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Paul Flaherty
Written by	Jay Dee Rock "Bobby Von Hayes" (alias of Steven Kampmann)
Produced by	Larry Brezner Pieter Jan Brugge
Starring	Martin Short Charles Grodin Mary Steenburgen Dabney Coleman
Cinematography	John A. Alonzo
Edited by	Tim Board Pembroke J. Herring
Music by	Richard Gibbs
Production companies	Morra, Brezner, Steinberg and Tenenbaum Entertainment
Distributed by	Orion Pictures Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	April 1, 1994 (1994-04-01)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$7.4 million

Clifford is a 1994 American slapstick black comedy film directed by Paul Flaherty, written by Jay Dee Rock and Steven Kampmann (under the alias of "Bobby Von Hayes"), and starring Martin Short, Charles Grodin, Mary Steenburgen, and Dabney Coleman. It tells the story of a 10-year-old boy who stays with his uncle while his parents are on a business trip in Honolulu.

The film was shot in 1990 and originally planned for release in the summer of 1991, but remained in limbo for several years due to Orion Pictures' bleak financial situation. It was not released until 1994, and was a critical and commercial failure. Despite the negative reception, the film has gained a cult following over the years.

Plot

In 2050, an old priest named Father Clifford Daniels (Martin Short) catches a boy named Roger (Ben Savage) planning to run away after not being allowed to play on a basketball team. He persuades him to change his ways by telling him a story of his own youth.

As a 10-year-old back in 1990, Clifford is an obnoxious and eccentric boy who never lets go of a toy dinosaur named Steffen and wants to visit Dinosaur World, a theme park in Los Angeles, California. His workaholic parents Julian (Richard Kind) and Theodora (Jennifer Savidge) never have time for it. While flying with his parents to Honolulu on Julian's business trip, Clifford intentionally causes the pilot to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles.

Father Clifford takes this moment to tell Roger about his father Julian's estranged brother Martin (Charles Grodin) who is an engineer working for Gerald Ellis (Dabney Coleman). Martin wants to marry his co-worker Sarah Davis (Mary Steenburgen), though Sarah wants to have kids with him.

Because Clifford is now banned from the flight, Julian phones Martin to have Clifford stay with him temporarily. Martin thinks that this is the perfect opportunity to prove to Sarah how well he interacts with Clifford despite not seeing him since his baptism and is completely unaware of Clifford's antics.

Upon their reunion, Martin reveals to Clifford that he designed Larry the Scary Rex (a Dinosaur World attraction) and can get into the park free of charge which only strengthens Clifford's obsession to visit. Martin promises to take him there, but is ultimately forced to break his promise the next day as his boss Gerald wants him to redesign LA's public transit system – one of Martin's biggest dreams – in two days. At a gas station, Clifford attempts to sneak away by posing as someone else's son in a dinosaur costume, but he's caught by Martin who cancels the trip.

During the 35th anniversary of Parker (G.D. Spradlin) and Annabelle Davis (Anne Jeffreys), Clifford embarrasses Martin in front of Sarah's family with several pranks. Martin is arrested after Clifford calls in a fake bomb threat in city hall, which Clifford made out of mixing audios of Martin's scolding of Clifford with his answering machine.

After being released on bail, Martin scolds Clifford again, claiming that he now has a criminal record, and wants him to write a confession, and mentions his own experiences of being denied his own visit to the theme park Riverview in Chicago before it was ultimately demolished in 1967.

Clifford later misleads Martin in catching a train to San Francisco where Sarah travels on the request of Mr. Ellis who attempts to move in on her, and Martin can't find him before the train departs.

Back at Martin's home, Clifford throws a party in exchange for a trip to Dinosaur World. Martin gradually perceives Clifford as a threat. When he returns home, he traps Clifford by boarding up the door and windows to his room. Sarah later releases Clifford and breaks up with Martin in disgust, taking Clifford with her. As Martin arrives late to Ellis's presentation of Martin's transit system, the Los Angeles city model explodes, costing Martin his job.

Martin later kidnaps Clifford from Sarah's house and finally 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 the malfunctioning Larry. Clifford begs Martin to save him, but Martin rants about what Clifford's mischief cost him. Ultimately, he risks his own life and rescues Clifford. Clifford finally apologizes for his behavior, but Martin won't hear it and calls him "this destructive thing that eventually everyone just gets to hate".

Father Clifford tells Roger that "if you destroy everyone in the way of your dreams, you will end up alone, with no dreams at all." He says he sent 287 apology letters to Martin which were returned unopened. When Roger asks about what happened to Sarah, he reveals that Sarah (who probably got back together with Martin after Clifford told her what really happened among telling everyone in L.A. in order to make Martin's life better) invited him to her wedding to Martin as the ring bearer. Through a gesture from Sarah who is now officially Clifford's aunt, Martin finally forgives Clifford while giving him a kiss on the head.

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

Cast

• Martin Short as Clifford Daniels, a mischievous 10-year-old boy who later becomes a priest in 2050.
• Charles Grodin as Martin Daniels, an engineer and Clifford's uncle who watches Clifford while his parents are in Honolulu.
• Mary Steenburgen as Sarah Davis Daniels, a daycare center worker and Martin's co-worker/fiancée who later becomes Clifford's aunt.
• Dabney Coleman as Gerald Ellis, Martin and Sarah's boss who wears a toupee.
• Richard Kind as Dr. Julian Daniels, Clifford's short-tempered workaholic father who is estranged from his brother Martin.
• Jennifer Savidge as Theodora Daniels, Clifford's loving workaholic mother.
• Ben Savage as Roger, a boy from 2050 who Father Clifford recounts his childhood too.
• Don Galloway as Captain
• Tim Lane as Navigator
• Josh Seal and Kevin Mockrin as Kevin
• Timothy Stack as Kevin's Father
• Marianne Muellerleile as Kevin's Mother
• G.D. Spradlin as Parker Davis, the father of Sarah.
• Anne Jeffreys as Annabelle Davis, the mother of Sarah.
• Richard Fancy and Al Pugilese as the detectives that arrest Martin
• Barry Dennen as the voice of Terry the Pterodactyl, an animatronic Pterodactyl on the Larry the Scary Rex ride.

Critical reception

The film was critically panned. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 13% approval rating based on 31 reviews. The site's critical 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."

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 film critic Gene Siskel gave Clifford "Two thumbs down" on their television show with particular criticism towards Martin Short's casting as Clifford, Ebert stated that "Short looks so weird that there's never a moment where you can stop gawking at him long enough for the character to gather up any momentum". Siskel agreed stating that Martin Short "looks like a wizened little dwarf" and referring to his character as "very unhappy".

Despite this broader negative reception, Clifford has since gained a reputation as a cult classic.

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

External links

• Clifford at IMDb
• Clifford at the TCM Movie Database
• Clifford at Box Office Mojo