Customer Reviews

The Ransom of Red Chief

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Comedy suitable for the whole family, but unfortunately not too funny. Supposedly based on a story by O. Henry, this was apparently made for TV and later remarketed on DVD to exploit the young Osment's new fame after he starred in Sixth Sense. It takes place in the old west, when Christopher LLoyd (Taxi, Back To The Future) and Michael Jeter think they can make a fast fifty by kidnapping the banker's son (Osment). But the banker doesn't believe them. Meanwhile the kid's having a grand old time playing with his kidnappers. Kind of like Disney's No Deposit, No Return; not as funny.

I bought this movie to show to my 8th graders in English because we had just read the short story the week before.
The movie surprised me in how far it strayed from the original story. I almost didn't show it.
But, then I thought that this movie was a wonderful example of author's purpose, particularly in how the
writers of this film thought it was more imperative to depict the circumstances behind this child's erratic behavior,
than to preserve the irony from the original story.

Nevertheless, I showed my students the DVD and they came up with excellent Venn diagrams illustrating the extreme differences between the story and the film.

So if you're a teacher, you might want to use this film to do a comparison with the story if you're reading it.
But, be warned of how different it is from the short story.

I love this movie. I laughed so hard when I saw it. I admit it is very stupid but that only makes it more fun. There is no real deep story line and all of the charecters are dumb and dumber. All in all it is just pure good intertainment. Fun for the whole family.

This is a good movie. It does have several slow parts, but it is worth watching. Christopher Lloyd and Michael Jeter play characters similar to Don Knotts and Tim Conway in the Apple Dumpling Gang. The scene in the mine where Old Hank has just had the spider knocked off his head is as funny as anything I have ever seen.

Several years ago, I was away on business. Sitting in my hotel room, I was clicking through the channels when I rested on this Disney Made-For-TV movie, which was just starting. I enjoyed it so much that I called my husband, who was home with the kids two hours earlier than where I was (CA versus the midwest), and asked him to tape it for me, suggesting he and the kids would enjoy it in the meanwhile. I am happy that it finally came out on DVD and I can toss the recorded VHS. This is "standard" family entertainment, Disney style, and I enjoy the silliness. I agree with previous reviewers that it is reminiscent of "The Apple Dumpling Gang" movies, because the "bad guys" are inept and comical and usually steal the show. If you can watch, without laughing, the parts where the sidekick is trying to shake a spider off his forehead, or where the town magnate is trying to figure out just what animal the cook has prepared for his dinner, well, you just don't have enough kid left in you!

This is a fun movie that our whole family enjoyed. Mom and Dad remember watching an older version, but it was about the same. We read the book first and it is a bit different. The kids ages 8, 6, and 4 all thought it was a fun movie.

This is an exellent movie. It's a great family show, and so funny you laugh from the start till the end.

This movie is nothing like the short story, but that makes it good for compare-and-contrast lessons. Kids will enjoy the funny plot. They love the mixed-up national anthem at the end. Some of my students have memorized the whole thing.

The movie did not follow the details of the story as originally written. The short story was much more entertaining.

This is one of my favorite O Henry stories and I think the only thing this movie has in common with the book version is the title. They changed much of the story, added characters, etc. With such a wonderful cast of actors I was expecting so much more. I was hoping to read the story and then share this movie with my class, but this is NOT O Henry or anything close to it!