Little MonstersSometimes the friend you need is the one you find in the unlikeliest of places--like hiding under your bed. Little Monsters is a comedy about an eleven-year old boy named Brian Stevenson (Fred Savage), who befriends Maurice (Howie Mandel), a blue-skinned monster in a leather vest with a predilection for mischief. After Brian discovers that the monster lurking under the bed of his brother, Eric (Ben Savage), is real, Maurice invites Brian to the place where monsters hang out--accessible only at night, because monsters vanish when exposed to light. But partying all night with a bunch of bizarre creatures threatens Brian's life in the sunlight, as he starts showing signs of becoming one himself.
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Little Monsters is unquestionably made for kids around Brian's age--prepubescents who will get a kick out of Maurice's brand of humor, often involving bodily functions, silly voices, and sight gags. Maurice is supernatural prankster akin to Betelgeuse (of Beetlejuice), whose real purpose is to engage the audience with rapid-fire jokes and wacky antics. Maurice is also a surrogate male role model for Brian, since his father, Glen (Daniel Stern), rarely spends time at home; when he does, he is usually blaming Brian for one of Maurice's pranks. Brian is designed to be identifiable to the target audience--a young boy who feels displaced after moving to a new school, and is coping with the rift growing between his parents. He comments in his opening narration that he feels alone and without friends, so the emergence of someone "cool" like Maurice--who actively takes an interest in him--is a comfort. Brian is far from depressed or withdrawn, but he has become cynical and distrusting of his parents--especially his father. (Brian has a reputation, however, for lying to get out of trouble, like when he left his signature peanut butter and onion sandwich out after waking himself up in the middle of the night to watch a naughty public access program.) After Glen accuses Brian of leaving his bike out in the driveway, Brian takes out his frustrations on his brother on the bus, chucking his lunch out the window as "punishment", mimicking his father's attempts at being a disciplinarian. Maurice is hardly a positive role model, though; his job is literally to sabotage the lives of other kids like Brian--but at least he enjoys spending time with Brian. There is a subplot that suggests that Maurice was tasked by the ruling power in his subterranean realm to trick Brian into staying underground and turn him into a monster, but it never gets seriously pursued in Little Monsters; it's in the film's interests to focus on the wackiness instead.
Brian is confronted with his own family unraveling; his parents argue late at night, and consider a trial separation. The "monster under the bed" is a metaphor for the disquiet that the Stevenson children experience following their parents' bickering. After Brian's parents advise him that they will be separating for a while, his mother, Holly (Margaret Whitton), believes that Brian's means of coping with the anger is to "saw the legs off of all of the beds in the house"; the truth is that it has more to do with blocking Maurice and his kind from invading his home after they have a disagreement. Brian is an underachiever; he is gifted at electronics--even wiring his alarm clock to wake him up without waking up the rest of the house--although he tries to leech off of a pretty girl at school named Kiersten (Amber Barretto) to get out of doing a report for class (which he evidently never completes). Brian has a crush on Kiersten, and is surprised to learn that she has similar feelings for him, which he discovers after he and Maurice sneak into her room one night. His surprise has to do with his feelings of isolation--from his former school and from his dad. There are moments where he and his father are playful, where Glen gives Brian piggyback rides, and so on; but these happen less often than the reprimands. Brian gets into a fight with a local bully, Ronnie Coleman (Devin Ratray), but fails to make his case to the principal in his defense for coming to blows, making Brian look like a thug picking a fight. Maurice and his underground ghoulies fill a void in Brian's life, where life in the world below the box springs is a never-ending party. The underworld contains appealing attractions like pinball games that don't tilt, freaky monsters, and games of "monster ball". When Brian returns home at sunrise, Maurice gives him a pair of wraparound shades to shield his eyes from the ultraviolet rays which plague the monsters. They also have the side effect of making Brian look like he's too cool for school--literally, since he starts showing up late for class. Brian's nocturnal activities with Maurice and his crew are a metaphor for getting mixed up with a gang or a bad crowd. As Brian continues to spend time with Maurice, he discovers that despite Maurice's good nature, there are parts of his job that he finds reprehensible. This starts when he realizes that Maurice destroyed Kiersten's report that she worked very hard on to complete, and later when the monsters are trying to terrify a little baby in the crib. Even though Brian enjoys Maurice's friendship, he begins to discover his own values about what is right and wrong--a sign that he is maturing. The underworld is run by a sadistic monster named "Boy" (Frank Whaley), with the brutish Snik (Rick Ducommun) as his enforcer. Boy looks like the quintessential spoiled brat with his pasty skin and blazer, and behaves as one--a man-child who never really grew up. He exists as a cautionary reminder of what it means for Brian (and other boys like him watching at home) should they fail to discover the dangers of behaving like an eternal child--partying all the time and never owning up to their responsibilities. This is the "monster" which Brian is in danger of becoming should remain indefinitely in the realm of self-indulgence and not emerge into the "light" of maturity--a message underscored in the memorable climax to Little Monsters, where he and his friends race for the West Coast to avoid being trapped forever in the underworld after the sun rises.
Recommended for: Fans of a goofy comedy designed for kids, but one that explores the challenges that come from feeling isolated and alone, and how important it is to have a positive role model in a child's life. Little Monsters fishes for laughs with silly--even gross--gags and jokes, but it's message about camaraderie and friendship is a theme that makes it relevant and fun for its target audience.
Brian is confronted with his own family unraveling; his parents argue late at night, and consider a trial separation. The "monster under the bed" is a metaphor for the disquiet that the Stevenson children experience following their parents' bickering. After Brian's parents advise him that they will be separating for a while, his mother, Holly (Margaret Whitton), believes that Brian's means of coping with the anger is to "saw the legs off of all of the beds in the house"; the truth is that it has more to do with blocking Maurice and his kind from invading his home after they have a disagreement. Brian is an underachiever; he is gifted at electronics--even wiring his alarm clock to wake him up without waking up the rest of the house--although he tries to leech off of a pretty girl at school named Kiersten (Amber Barretto) to get out of doing a report for class (which he evidently never completes). Brian has a crush on Kiersten, and is surprised to learn that she has similar feelings for him, which he discovers after he and Maurice sneak into her room one night. His surprise has to do with his feelings of isolation--from his former school and from his dad. There are moments where he and his father are playful, where Glen gives Brian piggyback rides, and so on; but these happen less often than the reprimands. Brian gets into a fight with a local bully, Ronnie Coleman (Devin Ratray), but fails to make his case to the principal in his defense for coming to blows, making Brian look like a thug picking a fight. Maurice and his underground ghoulies fill a void in Brian's life, where life in the world below the box springs is a never-ending party. The underworld contains appealing attractions like pinball games that don't tilt, freaky monsters, and games of "monster ball". When Brian returns home at sunrise, Maurice gives him a pair of wraparound shades to shield his eyes from the ultraviolet rays which plague the monsters. They also have the side effect of making Brian look like he's too cool for school--literally, since he starts showing up late for class. Brian's nocturnal activities with Maurice and his crew are a metaphor for getting mixed up with a gang or a bad crowd. As Brian continues to spend time with Maurice, he discovers that despite Maurice's good nature, there are parts of his job that he finds reprehensible. This starts when he realizes that Maurice destroyed Kiersten's report that she worked very hard on to complete, and later when the monsters are trying to terrify a little baby in the crib. Even though Brian enjoys Maurice's friendship, he begins to discover his own values about what is right and wrong--a sign that he is maturing. The underworld is run by a sadistic monster named "Boy" (Frank Whaley), with the brutish Snik (Rick Ducommun) as his enforcer. Boy looks like the quintessential spoiled brat with his pasty skin and blazer, and behaves as one--a man-child who never really grew up. He exists as a cautionary reminder of what it means for Brian (and other boys like him watching at home) should they fail to discover the dangers of behaving like an eternal child--partying all the time and never owning up to their responsibilities. This is the "monster" which Brian is in danger of becoming should remain indefinitely in the realm of self-indulgence and not emerge into the "light" of maturity--a message underscored in the memorable climax to Little Monsters, where he and his friends race for the West Coast to avoid being trapped forever in the underworld after the sun rises.
Recommended for: Fans of a goofy comedy designed for kids, but one that explores the challenges that come from feeling isolated and alone, and how important it is to have a positive role model in a child's life. Little Monsters fishes for laughs with silly--even gross--gags and jokes, but it's message about camaraderie and friendship is a theme that makes it relevant and fun for its target audience.