SnoopyStyle Brash working-class Dutch Dooley (Ed O'Neill) attends a high-class party with girlfriend Natalie Standish (JoBeth Williams). She doesn't get along with her rich ex-husband Reed (Christopher McDonald). He's abandoning Thanksgiving with their son Doyle (Ethan Embry) to go to London. Dutch volunteers to drive him home to Chicago from his boarding school in Georgia. He's looking to befriend Doyle who turns out to be an entitled brat disliked by the other kids and a spoiled snob just like his dad. It's a crazy road trip with hookers Brock (Ari Meyers) and Hailey (Elizabeth Daily).John Hughes is trying to write an odd couple road trip. The problem is that neither of these characters are that appealing. Ed O'Neill needs to dial back his brash working stiff mantra and his gruff mannerisms. Somebody should play the straight man and Dutch should probably be that guy. He doesn't have to be a nice guy but he should be some sort of mentor. Once the hookers show up especially with a very young one, the movie's family creds are put in doubt. The comedy suffers from its lack of likability.

makiprettywoman3 "It's like Home Alone with Bart Simpson." I think that is a good description of this movie. To get to know his girlfriends son he picks him up from school. Of course the kid is bratty and a lot like Bart Simpson. This is one of those movies written by John Hughes who wrote a lot of classic movies such as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueler's Day Off, Home Alone and those classic National Lampoon movies.This is not a movie I remember as a kid. It must have not been very popular in the movie theaters. Some of the stuff in this movie is over the top but otherwise this is a pretty good movie. The movie starts out a little slow.

OliverGbyrne-1 I have watched this film so many time and I'm so happy that it finally came out on DVD(I actually never taught it would but thanks to "Anchor bay entertainment" it did) The trailer of the movie describe really well what the movie is about "The story of a boy who lost the child in himself and the man that helps him find it". It's my favorite movie written by John Huges and I'm a big John Huges fan. Ethan Randall/Embry plays his part really well,he was perfect for the role of Doyle,he made the transition between the angry rude Doyle of the beginning of the film to the normal 12 year old kid you see at the end looks very natural and his chemistry with Ed Oneil is fantastic.Ed Oneil one of the most underrated actor in America just because of his Al Bundy persona.I Love Ed,I grew up watching Married with...and I have seen most of his other project,including the new yet short lived "Dragnet" TV show.That guy got style and he's ten times more talented than some of the guys you see on the big screen these days,I'm looking forward to his next project.Dutch was in my opinion his best role so far.Well this film his a classic in my book and it has a great message to it. I'll give it a 9 out of 10.

Pepper Anne Dutch is fantastic because Ed O'Neill, the star of the movie, is a fantastic comedian, and an underrated one at that (but then again, Hollywood does recycle the same cast over and over, so it's no surprised you never see him in too many major motion pictures). And though Christopher MacDonald, who play's Doyle's father is a real creep, he is a great comedian as well, and you just can't help to laugh whenever this guy is around (uh...that's a good thing).This is the early part of John Hughes's transition into strictly doing family films. He passed the teenage films (the brat pack series), then films with slightly younger supporting and main casts (Uncle Buck, Curly Sue, Dutch), and then went straight for the youngest-aged family film series (Home Alone, Baby's Day Out, etc). The early part of the John Hughes family film series, which started somewhere around 1989/1990 and continued into the early 90s, are comedies that I still enjoy watching (I haven't cared to watch many of his later movies because Baby's Day Out and Beethoven, etc. just doesn't interest me). They had two great elements: the social commentary (though it tends to be repeated in many of his films/screenplays), and the comedy element. Disappointed that his father (Christopher MacDonald) is in London (on a supposed "business trip", which translates into a holiday with a woman instead of his son) and won't be spending time with him on Thanskgiving, spoiled-brat Doyle (Ethan Embry) decides that he doesn't want to spend the holiday with his mother, either. They don't get along well, especially considering he is more like a mirror of his incredibly obnoxious father, while his mother (Jo Beth Williams) is a sensitive, kinder woman who just wants to get along with her son. Don't worry, 'Dutch' is on the case! Dutch (Ed O'Neill) is sort of a bafoon character (as we see from the introduction at the party where he engages in something like a mini version of Peter Sellers in 'The Party'). But, he's a good-natured fellow with a heart of gold. He'd have to be to make a promise to Doyle's mom that he'd bring the boy home for the holidays (Doyle goes to private school). It proves to be no easy task. Not at all. Since Doyle doesn't want to come home at all, let alone with his mother's goofy boyfriend. Doyle despises Dutch because Doyle comes from major money (Dutch works in construction) and sees himself as a much classier person than Dutch (who can get pretty gross when he wants...if only to annoy Doyle). But, Dutch is going to do whatever it takes (and it takes a lot) not only to keep his promise to Doyle's mother, but to try and get the tense little boy to lighten up and see that the world is not entirely against him. So there, you have the typical elements of Hughest: 1) social commentary via class divisions; and 2) unecessary youth angst. With a guy like Ed O'Neill, who even offers some great slapstick comedy, you can be sure that you'll be in for a lot of laughs. This guy truly is one underrated actor.