The Kid & I

The Kid & I
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Penelope Spheeris
Produced by	Tom Arnold Brad Wyman Penelope Spheeris
Written by	Tom Arnold
Starring	Tom Arnold Eric Gores Linda Hamilton Henry Winkler Richard Edson Brenda Strong Arielle Kebbel with Shannon Elizabeth and Joe Mantegna
Distributed by	Slow Hand Releasing PorchLight Entertainment
Release dates	December 2, 2005
Running time	93 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$5 million

The Kid & I is a 2005 American comedy film starring Tom Arnold and Eric Gores.

Plot

Former actor Bill Williams (Tom Arnold) is about to commit suicide over his ruined career. He throws out all his stuff and gives his clothes to a poor alcoholic. The man drinks Bill's vodka and takes half of his pills messing up his suicide plan and takes off. Bill drinks his alcohol and then takes the pills not knowing he won't die. He then lies down in the bathtub and closes his eyes. Three days later a demented film agent named Johnny Bernstein (Henry Winkler) shows up at the apartment with a business offer for him. He says a billionaire, Davis Roman (Joe Mantegna) will hire Bill to write and co-star in a movie exactly like 1994's True Lies so that his son, Aaron Roman (Eric Gores), whose favorite film is True Lies, can live out his dream of being an actor and star of an action movie. Not knowing much about the boy or the billionaire, Bill agrees to do the project since he would make thousands by the end of the movie.

Later at the park, Bill meets the drunk who took his drugs and alcohol. His name is Guy Prince (Richard Edson), a broke loser who hasn't had a job in almost 13 years. Bill finds he has a lot in common with Guy and asks him if he wants to be an actor. Guy agrees and he becomes Bill's unconventional "best friend".

Johnny, Bill and Guy later show up at the lavish Roman mansion, meeting with Davis and his wife, Shelby (Shannon Elizabeth). They are a nice couple which makes Bill think they have a nice normal son. However, when Aaron shows up Bill becomes uncomfortable and assumes he will be making a bad film with a mentally impaired person. He attempts to back out of the offer when his ex-wife, producer Susan Mandeville (Linda Hamilton), comes in with a film crew and tells everybody she will be producing the movie. Shortly after she shows up, Davis tells Bill about how normal Aaron is despite having cerebral palsy. Bill, remembering the money he will receive, agrees again to make the movie. Aaron is tenacious and happy to see Bill in person. He excitedly tells Bill about his interesting movie ideas as they begin to write the script. Though some of Aaron's ideas were unrealistic Bill becomes confident they will be able to shoot the movie. Aaron decides to call the movie Two Spies. Guy is enjoying himself as well as he flirts with the local women and spends time drinking all the Roman family's beer and wine. Aaron tells Bill he wants to kiss a beautiful women at the end while in a hot tub. He has his actress/model crush, Arielle Kebbel in mind. Bill agrees to the idea.

Susan helps keep the movie on track by taking the production to a big movie studio in California. The actors show up, including Arielle Kebbel, which pleases a lovestruck Aaron. A pushy, overweight police woman becomes Bill's movie girlfriend. Guy plays a character named Lester Loser who gets blown up by a terrorist's bomb. Aaron's character rescues a dog and delivers it to the government officials it belongs to. Bill is happy with the movie's progress until he discovers it will only be shown at Aaron's birthday party. He quickly becomes depressed and angry with himself again. To make matters worse, Aaron forgot his dog allergies and has a bad reaction. His overprotective mother Bonnie is furious when she finds out his attack and arrives to take Aaron home for the summer. She convinces Aaron that Bill is bad and the boy begins to believe it. He leaves to be with his mother for the rest of the year. Davis still offers to pay Bill for the incomplete movie but Bill refuses. Guy and Bill go home, where Guy begins to throw all his money away on beer. He is soon broke again, living in a trailer attached to a car. Distraught, Bill avoids any contact with Susan and plans his next suicide attempt.

Bill watches some of the film's footage and starts to see not everything is lost for him and Aaron. He flies out to where Aaron and Bonnie (Brenda Strong) live. He then convinces Bonnie that finishing the film will be a positive experience. Bonnie agrees and a very happy Aaron flies back to California to shoot the long-awaited hot tub scene with Arielle.

On the night of Aaron's birthday hundreds of people show up at the local movie theater where Two Spies is booked. Susan gets a lot of attention from reporters and tells everybody she believes in Aaron. Davis, Shelby and a surprising Bonnie all like the movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis show up at the screening to surprise Bill and wish Aaron a happy birthday. Guy tells Bill he'll drink less and wants a career in show business. Johnny even considers distributing the movie worldwide because the screening went so well. Bill is happy again and tells Aaron he wants to continue working with him.

Ultimately, Aaron and Arielle sit in a hot tub, giving each other a tender and romantic kiss.

Cast

Production

Gores is the son of Alec Gores, a billionaire technology investor and founder of the Gores Technology Group, best known for its acquisition and resale of Brøderbund. The younger Gores has cerebral palsy and his father hired Arnold, a neighbor in Los Angeles, to make a sequel to Eric's favorite film, True Lies (1994), in which Arnold co-starred. The plot of The Kid & I closely parallels the actual situation.^[1]

The profits for this movie are going to United Cerebral Palsy, a lobby group for disabled people in Washington, D.C..

Jamie Lee Curtis makes a cameo appearance in this movie as herself, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was his second film appearance since he became Governor of California.

Songs

• "What's Up Doc (Can We Rock)" by The Fu-Schnickens
• "The Final Countdown" by Europe
• "Love Me With All Your Heart" by Agnetha Fältskog
• "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum
• "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus
• "Funky Cold Medina" by Tone Loc
• "Let Me See Your Underwear" by THEM

References

External links

• The Kid & I at the Internet Movie Database
• The Kid & I at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Kid & I at Box Office Mojo
• Official site
• Variety.com's review