If you were to compile a list of unrecognised geniuses in Hollywood, Martin Short would have to place near the top. The guy is funny. Serious, hardcore funny. Yet he’s never really had the chance to break out and show the world the extent of his talents. He did a lot of medium-level Hollywood pictures in the ‘80s and ‘90s then seemed to find a place in television for the past few decades.
Which is too bad. If you want proof that the universe isn’t fair, look at the number of films the wooden, awkward, uninteresting Chevy Chase got to star in versus Martin Short.
Clifford.
No, not the kid’s show about a big red dog, but the 1994 comedy in which Martin Short plays a hyper-intelligent utterly evil 10 year old boy.
How, may you ask, does a (then) 44 year old man play a 10-year old boy? CGI? Nope. Still in it’s infancy and really, really expensive. Makeup? Not really. Forced perspective? Again, not really. All they did was put Martin Short in a pair of shorts and a kid’s ridiculous suit, make sure everyone in the frame was taller than he was and kind of ran with it.
Which is part of the genius of the movie. They really don’t care that a 44-year old man is playing a 10 year old boy. You either go with it or you don’t. Most didn’t. But for those that do go with it, rewards abound.
Clifford is the story of Clifford Daniels, a 10-year old boy as intelligent as he is disturbed. Clifford has one wish, to visit Dinosaur World, a theme park in Los Angeles. Clifford, you see, is obsessed with dinosaurs and carries Stefan, a dinosaur toy, with him everywhere he goes. No, not just carries, he talks to Stefan, relates to Stefan as if Stefan were real and blames all of his destructive behavior on Stefan.
On a flight to Hawaii with his parents, Clifford deliberately sabotages the plane to force a landing in Los Angeles. There he convinces his parents to let him stay with his Uncle Martin (Charles Grodin) who just so happens to be the architect who designed one of the biggest rides at Dinosaur World hoping to con a visit to the theme park.
If life were only that simple. Clifford isn’t interested in the little adult problems which get in the way of an immediate trip to Dinosaur World and makes his displeasure known through a series of despicable acts and pranks which slowly push Uncle Martin to and then over the edge.
Grodin is the perfect foil, the all-too-serious guy trying to prove he’ll make a great dad and paying for it hard.
This is a mean, black, but ultimately hilarious film. And Martin Short carries it. His Clifford is both charming and evil at the same time. Maddening and hilarious. It truly is one of the milestone comedic performances of the 1990s.
Sadly, like many great films I can name (Videodrome, anyone?) the critics had no idea what they were looking at so rather than relax and go along for the ride or try to puzzle it out, they panned it. The film died at the box office.
But thanks to streaming, it is again available for the world to watch.
And watch you should. Because Clifford is a true original. And how many films can you say that about?