Carpool
Franklin Lazlo (Tom Arnold) is desperate. His carnival is on the skids and he hasn't got the money to make his next payroll. He tries robbery, with little result except to have the police, some professional robbers, and a meter-maid (Rhea Perlman) chasing him. On the way, he takes uptight and harried children's carpool father Daniel Miller (David Paymer) and a van full of children hostage. Franklin and the children get up to some wild hijinks all over town, and gradually the starchy Daniel begins to loosen up.
Director: Arthur Hiller
Starring: Tom Arnold, David Paymer, Rod Steiger, Rhea Perlman, Rachael Leigh Cook
The whole madcap production is at best faintly amusing, at worst, painfully protracted
Carpool is affably stupid Saturday-matinee fare -- good for opiating the kids for a few hours -- but let's just say it's no Big Bully.
Arthur Hiller's pacing is crude, but that seems to be the point.
It's a shame Arnold is stuck on the loudmouth clod schtick, because there are moments he's downright pleasant on screen. But in Carpool, these moments are kept to a minimum.
Indifferently directed and almost aggressively tedious, we'd call it cliched if they'd even bothered getting the cliches right.
Worst Actor
Razzie Awards (1997)
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