Catch That Kid

Catch That Kid!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bart Freundlich
Produced by	Andrew Lazar Uwe Schott
Written by	Michael Brandt Derek Haas
Starring	Kristen Stewart Corbin Bleu Max Thieriot Jennifer Beals Sam Robards
Music by	George S. Clinton
Cinematography	Julio Macat
Editing by	Stuart Levy
Studio	Fox 2000 Pictures
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	February 6, 2004
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States Germany
Language	English
Budget	US$12 million[1]
Box office	US$16,930,762[1]

Catch That Kid! is a 2004 American adventure comedy film directed by Bart Freundlich. It is a remake of the Danish blockbuster Klatretøsen (2002). The movie's working titles were Mission Without Permission (also the film's UK title as well as part of one of the taglines), Catch That Girl, and Catch That Kid!

Plot

Madeline Rose "Maddy" Phillips (Kristen Stewart) is a 12-year old girl who loves to climb. Her father, Tom (Sam Robards), has climbed Mount Everest, so it runs in the family. Several years earlier, Tom fell more than 100 feet during a climb, and because her parents are afraid she might hurt herself, they have ordered Maddy not to climb. Tom had some internal injuries from that earlier fall, which he didn't know, and now the injury has paralyzed him from the neck down. There is an experimental operation, costing $250,000, which can save him. Insurance won't pay for the operation, and the family doesn't have the money. Brisbane (Michael Des Barres) refuses to loan the amount and does so by putting loopholes in a contract Maddy's mother Molly Phillips (Jennifer Beals) signed (he's really trying to avoid loaning any money at all). When asked if he has a heart, Brisbane coldy responds, "This is not an emotional issue, Mrs. Phillips. A bank has no heart. Only paper in a vault". That is when Maddy firsts gets the idea to rob the bank.

Maddy steals three go-carts from her father and convinces her two friends, Gus (Max Thieriot) and Austin (Corbin Bleu), to help her. They remain hesitant, so she tells both of them that she loves him and doesn't care for the other, and gives half of her friendship necklace to each of them, claiming she has the other half and kissing them both. They break into Harderbach Financial, a bank in which Molly had begun to work for, creating a security system. They manage to break in, but with her mother at the hospital visiting their father, she is forced to babysit her younger brother, Max (Grant Hayden Scott and Sean Avery Scott). She and Gus progress to a room with thousands of security deposit boxes while Austin keeps the guards away from them. Maddy has to free climb to get to the exit when her hook gets caught in a crack when using the handhelds. She cracks the code, finding it is Madeline, and they flee the room, unintentionally setting off the alarm as they didn't type the exit code. While escaping from the guard dogs, at which point Austin demonstrates his dog-training skills, the trio is caught by Gus' brother, who tasers his partner (and then himself, though accidentally) after understanding the situation. However, just before escaping, Gus and Austin find out that Maddy played them after seeing each others' necklaces.

The two hop into their go carts, trailed by the police, but Austin holds all the cash in his cart, running out of gas. He then leaps into Gus' cart, and they escape to the hospital. They rejoin with Maddy in time to disable police cruisers by popping the tires with jacks. When Mrs. Phillips arrives, Brisbane attempts to pass all the blame on her, but ultimately, he is rejected by a French man named Francois, who says Brisbane's irresponsibility of having a party with an untested security system is a knucklehead move. Meanwhile, the kids make it to the hospital. However, they are caught up to by Maddy's mother, the bank security, the police, and the press. Maddy's mother then takes responsibility, saying that this was an authorized test for the bank's security. The following morning, Mrs. Phillips says what Maddy did was wrong, but apologizes, as it was her overprotection that started all the trouble in the first place. The press sympathizes with them, allowing them to hold a fundraiser the day after, earning enough money for Maddy's father's surgery. Even a friend named Mr. Hartman (who displays his like of acting throughout the movie) gives a free loan of $50,000 (as Brisbane's irresponsibility got him thrown out, Hartman is now the president of the bank). At the go cart rally after the operation, Gus and Austin make Maddy decide who she loves. She sniffs both of them and causes a debate between them. While they do so, she backs away, and they run after her saying who's the better boyfriend, and the movie ends.

Cast

• Kristen Stewart as Maddy Phillips
• Corbin Bleu as Austin
• Max Thieriot as Gus
• Jennifer Beals as Molly Phillips
• Sam Robards as Tom Phillips
• Grant Hayden and Sean Avery Scott as Max Phillips
• John Carroll Lynch as Mr. Hartman
• James Le Gros as Ferrell
• Michael Des Barres as Brisbane
• Stark Sands as Chad
• Christine Estabrook as Sharon
• Kevin G. Schmidt as Skip
• Audrey Wasilewski as Nurse

Box office

Catch That Kid opened at #6 in the weekend of February 6, 2004 raking in $5,824,860 in its first opening weekend. The film spent two weeks at the U.S. box office top ten.

Reception

Catch That Kid was panned by critics, garnering an 11% "rotten" approval rating on reviews aggregrating website Rotten Tomatoes.^[2] Most reviews took aim at the film's questionable morals and lack of originality, comparing it unfavorably to the Spy Kids trilogy.

Novelization

A novelization of the story was released in conjunction with the film. The novel was written by American fantasy and science fiction author Suzanne Weyn.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of American films of 2004

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Box Catch That Kid (2004) - Box Office Mojo". http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=catchthatkid.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-01. 
2. ^ Catch That Kid at Rotten Tomatoes

External links

• Catch That Kid at the Internet Movie Database
• Catch That Kid at Box Office Mojo
• Catch That Kid at Rotten Tomatoes
• Catch That Kid at Metacritic