Richie Rich (1994) * * *

Directed by:  Donald Petrie

Starring:  Macaulay Culkin, John Larroquette, Edward Hermann, Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Hyde, Michael McShane, Chelcie Ross

I vaguely recall the Richie Rich cartoon series I saw growing up.    It was not one which screamed for a live-action remake, but Hollywood chose to make it anyway.    Richie Rich was released in 1994, when star Macaulay Culkin was four years removed from Home Alone and following a string of flops.    Does anyone recall The Good Son, where Culkin plays a ten year old psychopathic killer?   Yes, such a movie was made.    Richie Rich isn't simply a Culkin vehicle, but has enjoyable performances by the film's adult co-stars and a certain sweetness and charm.   

The title character is the world's richest twelve year old, who because of his wealth, has no friends his own age and is followed around by the loyal butler Cadbury (Hyde).    His parents are not cold and aloof, but warm and loving, which goes against expectations.    Soon, Richie wins over some classmates, but then things go awry when a scheming executive at his father's company hatches a plot to take over the company and gain control of the Rich family wealth.    The executive, aptly named Laurence Van Dough (Larroquette) is properly smug and oily, two traits Larroquette has mastered in movies like Stripes and his multiple Emmy-winning role on Night Court.

Richie Rich isn't simply a "kid's movie", but contains sly satire and people we care about because, other than Van Dough and his henchmen, they are nice.    In one amusing scene, the ever optimistic Mr. and Mrs. Rich are stranded at sea in a lifeboat, but everything will be ok because the emergency kit contains plenty of caviar and champagne.     Van Dough is after the Rich family vault, which is discovered to be its own Mount Rushmore-like mountain called Mount Richmore.    Van Dough tells Mr. Rich, "You are just filthy rich, aren't you?"    What the mountain actually contains produces a big laugh and a touching aspect of what the Rich family is all about.

Culkin is appropriately likable as Richie, so we care about him.   This would be Culkin's last movie for nine years.    He returned to the screen in 2003's Party Monster, which coldly told the story of a murderous professional party animal hired to show up at openings of New York's trendiest night clubs.    I enjoyed the movie and admired Culkin's range.    I even thought Culkin could successfully transition to a twentysomething movie star, but that was not to be.    He faded into obscurity again after a couple more little seen films and a guest spot on Will & Grace.    Hollywood churns people up and spits them out, to be sure, even charming young actors like Culkin whose star shone so bright at one point we thought it would last forever.    Or at least longer than four years.