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Susan Granger's review of "DISNEY'S THE KID" (Buena Vista/Disney)
Working with Hayley Joel Osment in "The Sixth Sense" boosted Bruce Willis's career and now he's got a new pint-sized co-star in pudgy, eight year-old Spencer Breslin. Spencer plays Willis's character, Russ Duritz, as a child. He's transported from the '70s to the present to help his arrogant, aging self - that's Willis - an unhappy, unmarried, insensitive "image consultant" who is alienated from his family and doesn't even own a dog - get back in touch with the kid within. Rusty, as he was called back then, is appalled to learn what will become of him, moaning, "I grew up to be a loser!" But Russ eventually finds out what went wrong along the way, causing him to give up his dreams of being a pilot and to acquire a twitch in his left eye. Working from a script by Audrey Wells ("The Truth About Cats and Dogs," "Guinevere") under the restrained direction of Jon Turtletaub ("While You Were Sleeping," "Phenomenon"), Willis is utterly charming and captivating, as he discovers that being rich, living in an Architectural Digest house and driving a shiny black Porsche isn't as fulfilling as loving people and having them love you. 'Sound like "It's a Wonderful Life?" So be it - except Frank Capra would never have tolerated Marc Shaiman's intrusive, syrupy score. If you think Spencer Breslin looks familiar, he's the TV-commercial kid who ordered "two all-beef patties, cheese, pickles, lettuce, onions, special sauce on a sesame-seed bun." As for the women, Lily Tomlin plays Russ's long-suffering assistant, Emily Mortimer's his perky co-worker, and Jean Smart's the savvy TV anchorwoman I wish he'd wound up with. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Disney's The Kid" is a sweet, not-overly-sentimental 7, a heart-warming family fantasy. And you'll discover why the moon sometimes looks orange.
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