Alright, fellow tape travelers, let's rewind to a curious corner of the 90s comedy aisle. Picture this: you've scanned past the usual action heroes and rom-com queens at the video store, and your eyes land on a brightly coloured box featuring Martin Short… dressed as a 10-year-old boy. What strange magic was this? This wasn't just any movie; it was Clifford (1994), a film so bizarre, so unsettlingly funny, it feels less like a Hollywood product and more like a fever dream someone accidentally committed to celluloid... and then locked in a vault for four years.
### The Boy Who Would Be Ten… Forever?
The central, unavoidable gimmick of Clifford is seeing the then 40-year-old Martin Short playing the titular hyperactive, borderline sociopathic 10-year-old demon child. And let's be clear: Short doesn't just play a kid; he embodies a very specific, unsettlingly intense vision of childhood desire warped into monstrous obsession. Clifford’s singular goal is to visit Dinosaur World, a theme park promised to him by his long-suffering Uncle Martin (the legendary Charles Grodin). When circumstances (and Uncle Martin's own desires) threaten this sacred trip, Clifford unleashes a campaign of psychological torment that makes Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister look like a well-adjusted choir boy.
Short throws himself into the role with the kind of manic energy only he could muster. It's a performance that skirts the line between comedic genius and genuinely disturbing. He nails the physical tics, the pleading voice that turns instantly demonic, the wide-eyed innocence masking pure, unadulterated chaos. It’s a commitment so complete, you almost forget you're watching a grown man in shorts demanding chocolate milk and plotting elaborate revenge schemes. Almost. This wasn't just stunt casting; the film was actually shot way back in 1990! It then sat gathering dust for years due to the financial woes and eventual bankruptcy of Orion Pictures, finally escaping onto screens in '94, making Short's age during filming even more of a retro fun fact.
### Grodin: The Master of the Slow Burn
If Short is the film's chaotic energy source, Charles Grodin is its exasperated, slowly crumbling anchor. As Uncle Martin, an ambitious architect trying to woo his colleague Sarah (Mary Steenburgen, radiating warmth amidst the madness), Grodin delivers a masterclass in deadpan frustration. His reactions to Clifford's escalating reign of terror are priceless. He internalizes the rage, the disbelief, the sheer what-is-happening-to-my-life horror, letting it simmer behind those world-weary eyes. Remember his brilliant turns in films like Midnight Run (1988)? Grodin weaponizes politeness and forced smiles here, making his eventual snapping points all the more hilarious and cathartic. The chemistry between Short's unleashed id and Grodin's tightly-wound repression is the movie.
Mary Steenburgen, always a welcome presence, plays Sarah with a believable mix of affection for Martin and growing bewilderment at the tiny terror who has invaded their lives. She serves as the audience's surrogate, initially charmed by Clifford before slowly realizing something is deeply, deeply wrong with this child.
### A Trip to Dinosaur World (Eventually)
Directed by Paul Flaherty, a veteran of the legendary SCTV comedy troupe (which also gave us Martin Short himself, along with John Candy and Eugene Levy), Clifford has a certain sketch-comedy sensibility. Scenes often feel like self-contained escalations of absurdity. The plot is simple – get Clifford to Dinosaur World – but the journey is paved with sabotage, lies, swapped blueprints, tranquilizer darts, and increasingly elaborate acts of vengeance. The film barrels towards its theme park climax with a relentless, almost uncomfortable energy.
The Dinosaur World sequence itself is a highlight of glorious 90s theme park cheesiness. It feels tactile and real in that pre-CGI way – giant, slightly clunky animatronics, practical sets, a vibe that’s both charmingly dated and weirdly effective for the chaotic finale. This wasn't some green-screen fantasy; you feel the concrete walkways and slightly sticky ride handles. It’s a fittingly bizarre stage for Clifford's ultimate meltdown. Retro Fun Fact: The theme park scenes were actually filmed at CityWalk and the surrounding areas at Universal Studios Hollywood, cleverly dressed to become the mythical Dinosaur World.
### Shelved, Snubbed, Then Strangely Beloved?
As mentioned, Clifford's journey to the screen was bumpy. Shelved due to Orion's collapse, it finally emerged in 1994 to critical confusion and box office indifference (making only around $7.4 million on an estimated $19 million budget). Critics didn't know what to make of its aggressive, often uncomfortable humor and Short's uncanny performance. Audiences, perhaps expecting a more conventional family comedy, stayed away.
But like so many VHS oddities, Clifford found its second life on home video and cable. Removed from initial expectations, viewers started appreciating its sheer audacity, its commitment to its dark premise, and the brilliant comedic tango between Short and Grodin. It became a cult classic, whispered about among comedy nerds and fans of the bizarre. Was it ahead of its time? Or just gloriously out of time?
VHS HEAVEN RATING: 7/10
Why 7/10? Clifford is undeniably divisive and certainly not for everyone. Its humor can be grating, its central performance intentionally unsettling, and the pacing occasionally uneven. However, for sheer comedic audacity, the tour-de-force (and frankly, brave) performances from Martin Short and the perfectly matched Charles Grodin, and its status as a truly unique 90s artifact, it earns major points. It's a film that commits fully to its strange premise, delivering memorable moments of dark absurdity that stick with you long after the tape clicks off. The delayed release only adds to its mystique.
Final Thought: Clifford is the cinematic equivalent of finding that weird, unlabeled tape at the back of the rental shelf – you’re not sure what it is, but its strange energy compels you to watch, leaving you bewildered, possibly uncomfortable, but definitely entertained in a way few "normal" comedies ever could. It’s a Dinosaur World of weird, well worth the trip for the adventurous viewer.