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1[[quoteright:348:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/problem_child_1990_film_166.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:348: He's so bad, even the nuns refused to keep him.]]
3
4->''"Just this morning, I came upon a seven-year-old. He's smart as a tack, a little rambunctious, but, weren't we all at that age?"''
5-->-- '''Igor Peabody''', introducing the Healys to Junior for the first time.
6
7''Problem Child'' is a 1990 comedy film, the first film directed by Creator/DennisDugan and starring Creator/JohnRitter. It surrounds the destructive antics of a seven-year-old boy known only as Junior, who has been shuffled from foster home to foster home. He ultimately lands in the hapless custody of good-hearted Ben Healy, and his wife, Flo. While Flo merely wants the [[ItsAllAboutMe social status]] that comes with being a mother, and quickly despises Junior, Ben just can't bring himself to give up on him. In the meantime, Junior unleashes a kind of ComedicSociopathy on neighborhood kids and adults that hasn't been seen since ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner.''
8
9It was followed by two sequels. The first, ''Problem Child 2,'' was released in 1991. After the chaos of the first film, Ben and Junior relocate to a new town and attempt to start their lives fresh. They both meet complications in doing so - Ben becomes highly sought after by [=LaWanda=], a wealthy figure in town and a notorious man-eater and ChildHater, which spells trouble for Junior. Unfortunately, Junior already has his hands full at his new school, where among other things he has to contend with Trixie, the rare prankster kid with a sadistic streak to match his.
10
11''Problem Child 3: Junior in Love'' was a TV movie, which aired on [=NBC=] in 1995. Most of the characters were recast for this one, and Junior is again relocated to a new school. This time, he falls for a girl named Tiffany, and sets out to give his usual treatment to the other boys vying for her.
12
13There was also an animated television series based on the movies. Its page is [[WesternAnimation/ProblemChild here]].
14----
15!!Tropes associated with these movies:
16
17[[foldercontrol]]
18
19[[folder:General]]
20* AdultsAreUseless: Almost every adult in the films is either cruel, clueless, or makes no effort to rein in Junior's tendencies and give him a nurturing environment. Ben subverts this a little bit, but his efforts are undone by his own spinelessness. Subverted with Lucy's mom, who forces her daughter to let Junior come to her party.
21%%* AntiRoleModel: Junior is practically this.
22%%* AssholeVictim: About 95% of Junior's targets. The other 5% is mostly poor Ben getting caught in the crossfire.
23* BabysittersNightmare: Junior is characterized as a holy terror through this trope, being passed from foster family to foster family before winding up in the care of an orphan home run by nuns. This is before he meet the Healys, and the man who would become his dad.
24* BadToTheBone: Junior's {{Leitmotif}} is George Thorogood and the Destroyers' "Bad To The Bone", and the opening riff sounds pretty often when he's causing mayhem.
25%%* BerserkButton: Don't speak ill of or insult Ben within earshot of Junior. [[LaserGuidedKarma It WILL bite you on the ass. Hard.]]
26%%* BlackComedy: A good amount of the humor in the films could be characterized as this type.
27%%* ChildHater: Igor Peabody, Big Ben Healy and [=LaWanda=] Dumore really top the cake. Many of the former's jobs all revolve around children in some way.
28%%* ComedicSociopathy: More or less Junior's raison d'etre. And then there's Trixie, who might actually be ''worse''.
29%%* DirtyOldMan: Big Ben. Easily.
30%%* {{Hypocrite}}: Big Ben has referred to Junior as "evil" and "the devil" even though he's a genuine antagonistic jerkass himself.
31* ItsAllAboutMe: Flo Healy and [=LaWanda=] Dumore only care about making themselves look good.
32%%* {{Jerkass}}: Anyone who makes the ill-advised mistake of antagonizing Junior... but Big Ben is the textbook case of this trope!
33%%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Junior, although he doesn't show it much. Trixie is also one.
34%%* KidsAreCruel: Junior, but only to [[AssholeVictim people who deserve it]]. Junior himself is picked on by other kids just because he's adopted.
35%%* LargeHam: Leave it to Creator/GilbertGottfried to [[ChewingTheScenery devour whatever scene he's in]] in all three films.
36* MeaningfulName: Ben Healy literally heals Junior.
37%%* MoralityPet: Odd as it sounds, Ben Healy is THIS to Junior! (See MeaningfulName)
38* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: Gottfried's character, Mr. Peabody, was an adoption agent in the first film, a principal in the second (and [[WesternAnimation/ProblemChild cartoon]]) and a dentist in the third.
39* NiceGuy: Ben Healy is the nicest person in the series, hands down, because he genuinely loves Junior even when he's bad. The problem is that a lot of people find it easy to take advantage of that kindness.
40%%* NoIndoorVoice: What did you expect from Gilbert Gottfried?
41%%* OnlySaneMan: Ben Healy. Except when Junior wrecks his car, and Bow-Tie Killer shows up at their house, and takes his wife and Junior. He has totally lost it then up until he finds an item that causes him to come back to his senses.
42* ReCut: Both ''1'' and ''2'' aired on television, edited for content, but with newly-added scenes to make up for what was cut. You can watch them [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCPTjLXrhYY here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_suTCYLgZOU here]].
43* ShoutOut: Below is a list of examples from all three movies:
44** The poster of the 1st movie resembles that of ''Film/{{Parenthood}}''.
45** In ''3'', when Murph (Eric Edwards) introduces Junior to his sister Bertha (played by Edwards in drag), Junior says "Who let her out of Jurassic Park?" Both ''Film/JurassicPark'' and ''Problem Child'' franchises are Universal releases.
46** Also in the third film, Dr. Peabody wears a ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' button on his suit.
47%%* VillainProtagonist: Junior deliberately makes life difficult for everyone by pulling dangerous pranks [[ItAmusedMe because he finds them funny]], often going for DisproportionateRetribution for the slightest insults.
48%%** Trixie also counts in the second movie.
49%%What makes them villain protagonists? Do not uncomment the above examples without expanding them to explain this.
50%%* UrineTrouble: Quite a few of Junior's particularly disgusting pranks involve it.
51* WorldOfJerkass: The number of genuinely nice people you'll find in this setting can pretty much be counted on one hand. KidsAreCruel (not just Junior, but many others as well, whom Junior often gets brutal revenge on), adults [[AdultsAreUseless are passive-aggressive at best]] and sourpuss {{Jerkass}}es at worst, and often times the only one who seems to have a heart is Ben Healy.
52[[/folder]]
53
54[[folder:Problem Child]]
55* AdoptionDiss: Lucy Henderson's friends say that Junior's "not even a real kid. He's ''adopted''."
56* AllJustADream: The TV version adds a scene during Martin's ink blot test, in which he hallucinates, and dreams about being set to the electric chair, and escaping from it in the process, but not before sending the Warden to it.
57* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: The nuns throw a celebration at the orphanage when Ben Healy decides to adopt Junior.
58* BatterUp: Junior's dad gives him the tip of "holding onto the bat" after two strikes. After hitting the ball, he holds onto the bat while making his way to the bases and uses it to beat up anyone in his way.
59* BearsAreBadNews: During the camp scene, Roy wanted to scare everyone wearing a bear costume. The prank goes south when Junior finds a ''real'' bear and brings it to the camp with a steak.
60* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Junior is shown to actually like Ben as a father, since Ben was the first person to adopt him to actually treat him better.
61* BigBad: Martin, aka the Bow Tie Killer, the escaped convict who Junior writes letters to, becomes a bigger danger to Ben's family than Junior could ever be.
62* BirthdayPartyGoesWrong: Junior goes to a Lucy's birthday party. She and her other guests mistreat him and exclude him from many activities (because "he's not even a real kid; he's adopted"), so Junior takes his revenge on her by doing the following: filling the pinata with the contents of several pickle jars, throwing her presents in the pool, putting a live frog in the punch bowl, and replacing the cake's candles with firecrackers.
63* ButtMonkey: Mother Superior. Eventually, Ben and Flo themselves. Practically anyone under Junior's sly revengeful stunts.
64* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:The dried-up prune Ben carries around as a good luck charm, which ends up [[PocketProtector saving his life]] when he [[TakingTheBullet takes a bullet for Junior]].]]
65* ComicallySmallDemand: After the disastrous birthday party that he realizes Junior instigated, Ben at first considers spanking him but instead orders Junior to return his allowance of $1. Junior, having stolen hundreds of dollars by now, has to ''shuffle'' through his drawer for a one-dollar bill.
66* CopycatMockery: Junior repeats what Mr. Peabody says and does during a conversation with the nuns.
67* CorruptPolitician: Big Ben has absolutely ''no'' loyalty to the office he is running for, and all his campaign promises are BlatantLies. Fortunately, he's exposed as a phony at the end. (See IsThisThingStillOn).
68* DiabolicalMastermind: Junior.
69* DoorstopBaby: Junior was left at a random door, and this was repeated for each set of adoptive parents even when he outgrew the basket.
70* EspeciallyZoidberg:
71-->'''Big Ben:''' Is there a lesson to be learned from all this? How about don't trust anyone?
72-->'''Little Ben:''' Not even your own father?
73-->'''Big Ben:''' Especially your own father!
74* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Bow-Tie Killer is the nickname of Martin Beck.
75* EvilCounterpart: The Bow Tie Killer to Ben Healy. Junior has a fondness for both of them, however while Ben is genuinely caring, compassionate and a doting father to Junior, The Bow Tie Killer is sociopathic, ruthless and intends on using Junior as a means to an end, nothing more.
76* GroinAttack:
77** The climax of the baseball scene ends with Junior hitting the catcher's balls with the bat. "We've adopted Satan."
78** Also, in response to Beck's offer of [[WeCanRuleTogether terrorizing the state together]], Junior kicks him right there.
79* IHaveAFamily: Mayor Healy and Principal Peabody failed to keep their end of a bargain with mobsters. Healy played straight with the trope by stating he had a family. Peabody, on the other hand, said he didn't have one but could get one.
80* IHaveYourWife: And adopted son. Beck at first uses this blackmail on Ben to get $100,000 in cash. Ben at first decides "Screw 'em, I want to be left alone!" but then has a change-of-heart for Junior upon seeing an impressive drawing of himself. But he still lets Beck keep Flo.
81* ILoveTheSmellOfXInTheMorning:
82-->'''Junior:''' [After breaking several milk bottles] I love the smell of spilled milk in the morning. It smells like victory. [[note]]This scene was exclusive to TV versions.[[/note]]
83* InkblotTest: The prison psychiatrist is giving a Rorschach test to the Bow Tie Killer (Martin Beck), only the "inkblots" are actually bloodstains left by his victims. While the warden is in the room he lies, saying he sees things like butterflies and bunnies hopping across fields. This enrages the warden, and the psychiatrist forces him to leave. Once the warden leaves, the psychiatrist continues the test, and the Bow Tie Killer says he sees blood, and kills the psychiatrist, puts on his clothes and drives out of prison. Why no one was watching what was going on from behind a two-way mirror is anyone's guess.
84* IsThisThingStillOn: Shortly before the climax, Ben asks his {{Jerkass}} father Big Ben for money to pay the ransom of his kidnapped wife and son while the former is preparing for his Mayor campaign speech. When he turns him down, Ben then asks "Hey, Dad! Why don't you tell all the voters what you really plan on doing with this town?" and surreptitiously turns on the camera:
85-->'''Big Ben:''' I don't give a rat's ass for the voters! All I care about is the power and the power that'll give me the money. That's why I'm a success and you're not! America for the Americans. If you believe that nonsense, you're even stupider than I thought! I'd sell my ''soul'' to the Japanese if they made me an offer! And as for you, don't come suckering around me if you want something! The only thing you'll get from me is this! ''(moons the camera)''
86* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: Big Ben Healy mentions that he's selling his store and his land to Japanese businessmen. If you watch carefully during the baseball game, you can even see them briefly. His freely admitting it on [[IsThisThingStillOn what he didn't know was a live camera]] ends up destroying his mayoral campaign.
87* {{Jerkass}}: Big Ben Healy. The same with Flo. The same with many of the children, especially towards Junior. Junior himself is a quite a bit of one in his own way, but is shown to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold in the end.
88* JerkassHasAPoint: While expecting his son to be more ruthless and backstabbing isn't the way to correct it, Big Ben is right when he tells Little Ben that he's too nice, to the point of being an ExtremeDoormat. Little Ben's main CharacterDevelopment revolves around learning to stand up for himself and put his foot down when necessary, without compromising his kind nature.
89* LaserGuidedKarma: Several examples:
90** The SpoiledBrat Lucy only invites Junior so she can get ice cream, balloons, and a clown, and says Junior can't participate in the activities and agrees with the girl who says that [[KickTheDog "He's not even a real kid; he's adopted."]] Junior [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome ruins her party in epic fashion as payback]].
91** The little league players who mock Ben and Junior get a well deserved beatdown, and Junior [[GroinAttack slides under the catcher with the bat]] for two balls (heh) with one strike.
92** Ben sinking his {{Jerkass}} father's mayoral campaign (See IsThisThingStillOn).
93** Flo is thrown into a pig truck headed for Mexico while still inside a suitcase.
94* {{Leitmotif}}: The Bow Tie Killer has a harmonica tune playing whenever he comes on-screen.
95* {{Mooning}}: Big Ben does this without realizing that the camera is on.
96* NoAccountingForTaste: Ben is a NiceGuy while Flo is a self-centered harpy. The two share absolutely nothing in common.
97* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: The Bow-Tie Killer claims he's this. Junior, however, actually plays it straight because he's a nice enough kid if he's treated like a human being.
98* NunTooHoly: The nuns at the orphanage are downright ''mean'', and they eventually use underhanded tactics to trick the Healeys into adopting Junior.
99* OhCrap: The parrot's reaction to Junior upon his arrival at the Healy house.
100* PapaWolf: Ben, when he meets up with Martin at the Circus.
101-->'''Little Ben Healy:''' "What did you say you Bow-Tie freak? NOBODY hurts my boy, now let him go!"
102** [[spoiler:Same thing later on, when he uses himself as a shield to protect Junior from being shot by Martin.]]
103* RageBreakingPoint: Ben finally gets to this point when one of Junior's stunts bankrupts him. He only barely stops himself from smothering Junior, and allows Beck to kidnap him.
104* RecycledSoundtrack: The music during the bear attack is recycled from the 1987 film ''Film/RealMen,'' also scored by MilesGoodman and also starring Creator/JohnRitter.
105* SpoiledBrat: There's nothing nice at all about Lucy Henderson [[AssholeVictim who definitely deserved what was coming to her]], and even her own mom came close to punishing her by threatening to cancel her party. Flo is an adult version in that she spoils herself and forces Ben to cave into her every wish.
106* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:Ben does this for Junior at the climax when the Bow-Tie Killer shoots at him. Fortunately [[PocketProtector the dried plum]] saves him.]]
107* TakeThat: This line from Big Ben Healy speaks for itself.
108-->'''Big Ben Healy:''' "Happy? You don't know what you're letting yourself in for. For all you know, his parents may have met in the looney bin. They might even be Democrats!"
109* WithFriendsLikeThese: Ben's neighbor Roy, who loves to make fun of him and acts in a rather condescending manner. Ben does get a measure of payback at the end by stealing his van (and his Super Dad cap) to go rescue Junior, though.
110* YouCanKeepHer: When the Bow Tie Killer kidnaps Flo and Junior, Ben is initially overjoyed that they are gone. However after seeing a drawing Junior made of him, he realizes Junior loves him and goes out to rescue him. Flo's not so lucky, though.
111[[/folder]]
112
113[[folder:Problem Child 2]]
114* ActorAllusion: One for Creator/JamesTolkan (Mr. Thorn). One of the rules he has written on the blackboard is "No Slackers", which alludes to his similar role as Principal Strickland in ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture''.
115* ArtisticLicenseBiology: There is no blood test for rabies (antibodies) on either dog or human. Tests are performed on saliva, spinal fluid and hair follicles, plus they only give the result when the human has active rabies - which means he or she will die almost 100% surely in the next 3-4 days.
116* ArtisticLicenseEngineering: The Crazy Dance Scene. Normally, there would have been a kill switch in easy reach of the operator who could have shut the ride down for going too fast instead of simply gaping as he's shown to do. For that matter, the speed controls would likely be accessible only to him instead of simply being out in the open as they are. But then we wouldn't have a scene of unadulterated [[VulgarHumor gross-out comedy]].
117* BadDate: Junior has a bit of a problem adjusting to his dad trying to get him a new mom, and as a result sabotages two of his dates. This sets up the CassandraTruth situation later in the movie where Junior is trying to get his dad not to marry [=LaWanda=] Dumore, a RichBitch ChildHater who has it in for him.
118* BaitAndSwitch: When the puppet show is overthrown by someone using very crude humor and foul language, Ben immediately thinks that Junior is responsible for this since this isn't unlike his usual antics. He's charging through to confront his son only to find Junior in the audience laughing at the puppet show...and ''Trixie'' being the one sabotaging the puppet show.
119-->'''Ben:''' Who are you?
120-->'''Trixie:''' Who the ''hell'' are ''you''?
121* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: While on the Crazy Dance ride, Murph proclaims that it's going at "pansy speed" and insists it get pumped up. He gets his wish when Junior cranks the speed up to levels too much for him to handle. [[VomitChainReaction Along with everyone else on and nearby the ride]].
122* BettyAndVeronica: Annie is a sweet nurse who can relate to having a troublesome child, while [=LaWanda=] is more sultry and outgoing. (She's also a RichBitch and ChildHater, but Ben doesn't see this until the wedding.)
123* BigBad: [=LaWanda=] Dumore, mostly. Trixie Young is more of a Decoy Antagonist.
124* BrickJoke: Big Ben's "Millionaire Starter Kit" is a double-dipped example. Little Ben and Junior see a cheesy TV ad for the obvious scam, and in a later scene Junior calls Voytek, who's living in squalor with one of the kits sitting on the counter behind him. The gag comes back again when Big Ben moves in with them, lamenting that his scheme went bust and he only sold ''one'' starter kit.
125* ButtMonkey: Primarily [=LaWanda=]. But all other Ben's dates take the brunt as well. Mr. Peabody is in several scenes. The School Teacher in one scene, not to mention Junior himself in one scene when he is outsmarted and hosed by Trixie. Ben Healy is in one scene. Big Ben Healy is in one to several scenes as well. Practically anyone under Junior's sly revengeful stunts.
126* TheCanKickedHim: Junior throws dynamite down a toilet to stop Trixie's prank, causing all the toilets to explode, including one his teacher is using. The teacher wears a diaper for the rest of the film.
127* ChildHater: [=LaWanda=] Dumore. Cemented when she threatens to send Junior to boarding school in Baghdad (where there was a goddamn ''war'' on at the time the film was released!), out-and-out stated during the climax.
128* ContinuityNod:
129** While having dinner, Ben tells Annie about Big Ben's electoral downfall.
130** While looking for the kids, Annie asks if Junior's ever run away before. Ben lets out an embarrassed "Uh..." before changing the subject.
131* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: [=LaWanda=] threatens to send Junior to Baghdad. Baghdad would probably get the worst of it.
132* ColorCodedCharacters: Ben and Junior favor blue with a touch of red in their outfits, all of Big Ben's clothes are mostly green, just about everything [=LaWanda=] wears or owns is bright red, and Annie mostly wears white. The color motif enhances the more cartoony vibe of this movie when compared to the original.
133* CoveredInGunge:
134** The FoodFight scene, naturally.
135** The Crazy Dance [[VomitChainReaction pukefest]].
136* CryingWolf: Thanks to Junior chasing away all the decent women Little Ben tried to date, he won't listen to his accurate warnings about [=LaWanda=].
137* CuteAndPsycho: ''Trixie.'' Utterly adorable, wears pretty little dresses, and is the only kid in town with a sadistic streak to match Junior's.
138* DiabolicalMastermind: Junior and Trixie.
139* DisappearedDad: Nothing is ever mentioned on Trixie's father.
140* DisproportionateRetribution: Junior's barred from [[YouMustBeThisTallToRide an amusement park ride]] due to being about a millimeter too short. After he sees Trixie cheat her way in by wearing platform shoes, he decides to ''tamper with the ride's controls'', causing it to spin much too fast. Sure, it only made everyone on the Crazy Dance throw up, but [[FridgeHorror something much worse could have easily happened]].
141* DistaffCounterpart: Trixie is every bit the prankster that Junior is. The difference is that Junior usually saves his material for [[AssholeVictim people who wrong him or his father]] while Trixie causes chaos [[ItAmusedMe for her own amusement]].
142* DogFoodDiet: Debbie Claukinski's ex-husband Voytek is in his rathole apartment eating Chow Down when Junior calls. Chow Down, which comes in Beef, Chicken, and Horse and made Nippy take a dump three times his size.
143* TheDragon: Big Ben Healy pushes his son to marry [=LaWanda=] so he can be rich again.
144* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: When Junior and his dad go to Pizzariffic, ''Walk Away'' by Music/AlanisMorissette, credited as just Alanis, is playing through the speakers. Her style of music was very different in her first two albums.
145* EntitledBastard: Big Ben Healy was a lousy father, and even worse step-grandfather to Junior, yet has no problems using his son's home as a safe house from the SEC.
146* ExplosiveOverclocking: The Crazy Dance Sequence. Junior turns the machine up as far as it will go (why the ride's controls are so accessible in the first place is anyone's guess), resulting in a [[VomitChainReaction 2-minute barfing spree]] before the ride's machinery disintegrates in a shower of sparks and smoke.
147* FlippingTheBird:
148** Junior is driving his dad home, and an unseen driver cuts him off. The kid knows how to make use of "the highway salute".
149** Trixie gives Junior one in the middle of the school hallway before running off.
150* FoodFight: Ticked off when Junior flicks an olive into the cleavage of Mr. Peabody's date at the pizzeria.
151* {{Gasshole}}: Mr. Peabody refuses to accept that Junior is actually in his school, and thinks it's just a bad dream. Junior challenges this notion, on the grounds that a bad dream couldn't fart at him - which Junior does, '''loudly.'''
152-->''"If I was a figment of your imagination, could I do...this?"''
153* GradeSkipper: Mr. Peabody skips Junior ahead to the sixth grade just so he can get him out of the school faster.
154* GuessWhoImMarrying: Ben nearly marries a child-hating millionairess.
155** This continues the running theme of the first movie of him falling for less-than-savory women.
156* HeelFaceTurn: Trixie started out antagonizing Junior, but eventually, she ends up befriending him. It helps that they have common ambitions, such as hooking their parents up, and pranking awful adults who piss them off.
157* HeldBackInSchool: Murph has been at the school for at least as long as his long-suffering teacher. He's practically an adult:
158-->'''Murph:''' "The kid doesn't know who he's talking to. I'm a senior student in this school."
159-->'''Junior:''' "No shit, you've ''been'' here since 1970!"
160* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: Ben doesn’t believe Junior about [=LaWanda=] because of how Junior [[KidsPlayMatchbreaker sabotaged all his dates]] before.
161* IAteWhat: When Junior is asked by two snotty twin girls to refill a pitcher of lemonade, he does so with urine. The twins' father, Aron Burger, takes a drink from it.
162* JarPotty: Junior takes a whiz in order to refill a pitcher of lemonade for a pair of snobbish twin sisters that he wants to get back at. The twins' father, Aron Burger, is the one who ends up taking a sample of Junior's little concoction.
163* {{Jerkass}}: [=LaWanda=]. Including Big Ben Healy. Many of the kids are as well, especially towards Junior. Junior himself is a quite a bit of one in his own way.
164* KickTheDog: When [=LaWanda=] learns of the "nightmare" of a kid that the man she wants to marry has, she says this regarding him: "When someone has a bum leg, you don't shoot the patient; you just cut off the leg." In addition, her introduction scene has her having some people from a nursing home thrown out onto the street, and when her assistant brings this up, she goes "Oh, boo hoo hoo!" in an extremely unsympathetic tone.
165* KidsDrivingCars: Played with - in the wedding scene, Trixie crashes the party with a '''backhoe.'''
166** Junior himself takes over driving near the beginning when he and his dad are heading to Mortville, complete with him giving the "highway salute" to a driver who cuts him off.
167* KidsPlayMatchbreaker: Junior sabotages Ben’s dates before [=LaWanda=], one by phoning her PsychoExBoyfriend, and another by getting her electrocuted. This ends up biting him in the butt later when [=LaWanda=] shows up.
168* LargeHam: [=LaWanda=] all the way. A man-eater ''and'' a scenery-chewer!
169* LoudGulp: Ben Healy gives one of these when asking Nurse Annie on a date out of nervousness.
170* LoudSleeperGag: Junior is forced to share his bunk bed with his step-grandad, Big Ben, whom not only is an obnoxious {{Jerkass}}, but snores very loudly. Junior first puts a sock into Big Ben's mouth, but the old man gags, spits it and starts snoring even louder. Junior then pulls his blanket, making him fall down.
171* MagicPlasticSurgery: Junior tried to avert the wedding of his father and [=LaWanda=] by having her get plastic surgery to get the world's biggest nose on the day of the wedding. [=LaWanda=] woke up and discovered her new nose. Then, just a few hours later, she reappeared with her original nose and she said that she had some "last-minute double-overtime plastic surgery". So, she had two surgeries, on the same body part, in the same day, with no scars.
172* MakeAWish: The purpose of the Love Rock. Subverted when Trixie [[KidsDrivingCars just fulfills the wish herself.]]
173* MustacheVandalism: Junior, a little jealous of the attention his adoptive father is giving Annie Young, decides to deface her picture in this way. He's found by Trixie, her daughter (though he doesn't know it at that point) who is equal to him in being bad, who sternly warns him "I wouldn't do that if I were you." When Junior doesn't listen, Trixie floors him, says "Next time, you'll listen to me," and then draws a mustache on him with his own marker.
174* MuggingTheMonster: In the opening scenes, as Junior and Ben drive into town, Junior uses a slingshot to pop a little girl's balloon, and lets out an EvilLaugh as they drive away. Unfortunately, that little girl was Trixie, and she'd make him pay dearly for that.
175* NostalgiaFilter: Subverted in the beginning when Junior calls out Little Ben's reminiscing of Cold River.
176-->'''Little Ben''': "I used to have a lot of fond memories of this place."
177-->'''Junior''': "Fond memories? What are you talking about? Everybody hated you! Your father, your wife, those horrible neighbors!"
178-->'''Little Ben''': "You're right. [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Let's blow this joint!]]"
179* NotMeThisTime: During a puppet show at the school, things suddenly take an insulting turn. Ben is certain Junior's behind it and storms the stage while yelling, but he discovers it was actually Trixie. Then he sees that Junior was sitting in the front row the entire time and just enjoying the show.
180* OffToBoardingSchool: "Whether you like it or not, I am going to marry your daddy. And when I do, you will be on the first plane to boarding school — in Baghdad!"
181* OhCrap:
182** Junior when he can't unfreeze Big Ben's dog. Nippy only gets unfrozen with the introduction of a new dog food called "Chow Down".
183** Trixie when her mother starts yelling at her for her stunt during the puppet show.
184* OhNoNotAgain: Trixie disrupts the wedding by using a bulldozer to move the Love Rock.
185-->'''Annie:''' Oh, how many times have I told you not to operate heavy machinery?
186* ParentWithNewParamour: Junior actively resists any single women expressing interest in Ben, particularly [=LaWanda=]. (As noted above, his earlier stunts against the other women cause his very legitimate complaints about [=LaWanda=] to fall on deaf ears.) Trixie admits she's the same way with guys that approach Annie. The kids team up to get Ben and Annie together on the grounds that both are generally nice to them.
187* PersonaNonGrata: For causing the massive food fight, Ben, Junior, Annie, and Trixie are banned for life from Pizzariffic. Ben snarks that's not nearly as severe as the waiter is trying to make it out to be.
188* TheScream: Principal Peabody lets one out upon seeing Junior enter his office.
189* SenselessPhagia: Two examples:
190** Junior urinates into a pitcher of lemonade and passes it off to an unsuspecting bystander.
191** Junior sets loose a cockroach army into his family’s dinner.
192* ShipperWithAnAgenda:
193** Big Ben is pressuring his son to marry [=LaWanda=] so they can live off her money. He doesn't care when Ben realizes who he actually loves since the marriage could get them rich.
194** To prevent the marriage, Junior tries to set up Ben and Annie. In his defense, Annie is actually a nicer person, and Trixie's mother.
195* SkewedPriorities: While looking for their missing kids, Ben apologizes to Annie for Junior dragging Trixie into any trouble. Annie insists that Trixie causes plenty of trouble herself, leading to an arguement over who the bigger problem child is. They both soon lampshade how this is a very silly thing to argue about, especially at a time like this.
196* SleepCute: Junior and Trixie, at the foot of the Love Rock.
197* SpeakInUnison: The twins Dolly and Madison speak like this, with a few exceptions when only one of them talks.
198* SquashedFlat: Subverted. The Love Rock rolls over [=LaWanda=] and seemingly flattens her, but she was merely pushed into the ground and the only injuries she suffers are to her pride.
199* StatingTheSimpleSolution: After one last attempt by Big Ben to talk his son into marrying [=LaWanda=], Ben snaps back that if Big Ben likes her so much, ''he'' should marry her. Big Ben instantly realizes this isn't a bad idea.
200* StuffBlowingUp: After the VomitChainReaction resulting from the Crazy Dance going out of control, the machinery begins to smoke before breaking down in a spectacular shower of sparks and explosions. All in a day's work for Junior.
201* SuckECheeses: Both families go there and a FoodFight breaks out.
202* ToiletHumor: The scene where a teacher rushes through the hall to the bathroom to take a dump, and it just so happens Junior just flushed Trixie's [=M80=] down the drain.
203* TooDumbToLive: [=LaWanda=] tries pulling a YouShallNotPass on a rolling boulder and gets crushed. She only survives by sheer luck.
204* VillainousBreakdown: "Oh... Oh... ''[[ItMakesSenseInContext I'M PINOCCHIOOOOOOOOO!]]''"
205** Her real breakdown comes later when Trixie crashes the wedding with a backhoe carrying the Love Rock, which is when the mask concealing her ChildHater nature finally slips.
206--->'''[=LaWanda=]:''' I hate children! They've ruined everything! If I had enough power...I'd wipe them off the face of the earth! ''[Ben looks '''disgusted''' behind her]''
207* VomitChainReaction: The Crazy Dance sequence combines this with CoveredInGunge.
208* VomitIndiscretionShot: The Crazy Dance incident turns this up to eleven. (You should have a strong stomach for that scene.)
209* WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties: Invoked by Trixie when she hijacks the puppet show. (The bald eagle puppet: "I had to scratch my balls!")
210* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: One of Ben's dates, Emily, gets electrocuted when Junior rewires the doorbell to Ben's house. When Ben answers the door, Emily's hair is standing straight up, she's giving off sparks, smoke is coming out of her mouth and her dress is in shreds. She manages to stammer out an apology, turns around, and then falls face first onto the front walkway of the house seconds after Ben closes the door. At no time does Ben appear to realize Emily is in need of medical attention, and nothing is ever said about what happened to her after she collapsed in Ben's front yard, or even if she survived.
211* WinWinEnding: Everybody pretty much gets exactly what they wanted or needed in the end: Ben and Annie hook up, Junior and Trixie are best pals (and maybe even step-siblings, eventually), [=LaWanda=] finds herself a more suitable new hubby in Big Ben, and Big Ben gets a sugar mama to punch his MealTicket.
212* YouMustBeThisTallToRide: During the fair scene, Junior tries to get on the Crazy Dance ride, but is told that he has to be as tall as the tentacle, which he just barely isn't ("But it's only a millimeter!"). To add insult to injury, Trixie, who's much shorter then him, manages to get in by putting on platform shoes.
213[[/folder]]
214
215[[folder:Problem Child 3]]
216* AmbiguouslyGay: Corky. And if that wasn't enough, the actor who played him, Blake Mciver Ewing, later came out as gay!
217* BattleaxeNurse: Dr. Peabody's nurse, Kiki, who seems to get just as much enjoyment from torturing patients as he does.
218%%* BracesOfOrthodonticOverkill
219* BratsWithSlingshots: Junior uses his on a horse that Corky is riding. The horse goes bananas when it gets hit, rearing and dumping its rider fully-clothed into the pool.
220* ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs: Corky is so popular that his face is on the Krazy Krunch cereal box. His commercial states that said cereal has ''twice'' the sugar the other brands do.
221* DrillSergeantNasty: The Scoutmaster (he even calls his own son a sissy boy).
222* EvilCounterpart: Tiffany to Sarah as both Junior and Ben respectively try to win their affections throughout the movie. However, Tiffany's [[NiceCharacterMeanActor true nature]] isn't what Junior imagined whereas Sarah is genuinely nice.
223* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Junior drives Dr. Peabody and his [[HospitalHottie bombshell nurse]] insane by poisoning them with their own nitrous oxide (i.e., "laughing gas") and then tying both of them up in braces and dental floss. He even hung Peabody by the braces on the (moving!) ceiling fan!
224* InkblotTest: After Junior and Ben get in a car accident, because Junior didn't want to see a shrink, he undergoes this test to prove that he's perfectly normal.
225* TheJeeves: Corky, of course, has one of these, named Rupert. Although, he listens to Corky and actus “nice”, it’s quite obvious that deep down, he has little to no respect for the kid. And who could blame him?
226* LaserGuidedKarma: Many.
227** Blade getting beaten in his hockey game after his team brutally beat Junior earlier in the film.
228** Duke and Phlim throughout the race.
229** Tiffany getting stripped.
230* LighterAndSofter: This film is a bit softer on the violence and language compared to the original two.
231* KarmaHoudini: Junior. Sure, Duke, Corky and Blade were mean to him, but the way he dealt with them was pretty violent and brutal; especially with Corky. Motivation? ''Jealousy about the girl!''
232** With Corky, it is particularly played straight. Duke and Blade were actual bullies who harmed Junior physically multiple times. Corky, while not the nicest kid, never actually harmed Junior yet he was probably injured the most seriously. And what happens to Junior after that? Eats ice-cream with his dad! Perhaps one could argue Tiffany being a bitch was his comeuppance, but even then he seemed pretty content with it, even pranking her when he finds out.
233* MadeForTVMovie: Unlike the previous films, this one was made for television.
234* NakedPeopleAreFunny: When Tiffany's dress is ripped off. Lampshaded by Junior when he throws in this remark:
235--->'''Junior:''' "Hey Tiffany, you forgot your dress."
236* NiceCharacterMeanActor: Tiffany; see ShaggyDogStory.
237* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Corky [=McCullum=] is a parody of Creator/MacaulayCulkin.
238* NoIndoorVoice: Aside from Dr. Peabody, Duke and his father seem to have this.
239* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Both Duke and his father Eugebe have little respect for women, especially how Eugene is very possessive about Sarah and is willing to hurt Ben over her, and treats her as a “prize”. And the way he mentions Duke’s mother, it’s pretty obvious he didn’t treat her well. LikeFatherLikeSon indeed.
240** And Big Ben continues being one like in first two movies.
241** And Corky also displays this. He is a rich spoiled kid and clearly looks down upon people of lower class status, especially the way he treats Rupert. And once when he says to Rupert “English”, implies he also looks down upon non-Americans.
242* RearingHorse: When it gets hit in the flank with Junior's slingshot, Corky's horse ends up in this stance, throwing its rider into the air and into the drink.
243* ShaggyDogStory: The whole film sees Junior's effort to gain the attention of a love interest and competing with three bullies to do it. After he finally overcomes the opposition, he finds that said girl is a [[NiceCharacterMeanActor snooty]] {{control freak}}. But it works out in the end as he meets a much nicer girl shortly after.
244* ShoutOut: Dr. Peabody is wearing, [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer of all things]], a ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' smiley-face-with-bloodstain button on his coat, though the blood looks slightly different in that it is covering the left eye instead of above it.
245* SoLongSuckers: Junior's last line of the whole franchise here.
246* TunnelKing: Big Ben digs his way out from a closet to the front yard.
247* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Annie and Trixie from ''2'' are neither seen or mentioned (by name) in this one.
248* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Junior explains everything about his new life, drawing style.
249[[/folder]]

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