Blank Check (1994)

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Blank Check (1994) ** (out of 4)Preston Waters (Brian Bonsall) stumbles across a check for one million dollars so obviously he cashes it and begins to live the high life. What he didn't realize is that the check was meant for gangsters and soon they're coming after him.BLANK CHECK is a decent kids movie that has an obvious set-up and then turns into yet another clone of HOME ALONE. If you're a kid then you can easily connect to the lead in this film and I'm sure young minds will have fun with the idea of getting a blank check and getting to have fun with it buying whatever you want.The story is a pretty easy set-up and for the most part the film has enough laughs and adventure to where I'm sure kids will enjoy it. As far as the adults watching, there's nothing awful about the picture but there's no question that it lacks any real imagination and the HOME ALONE clone just doesn't have many laughs going for it.BLANK CHECK is a decent kids film that younger people should enjoy but the adults might be looking at their watches a few times.

I watched about 20 minutes of this movie before I couldn't take it anymore. This is my first time writing a review because I really want my opinion to be heard.This movie teaches kids that money is the most important thing, that parents should favor children who make more money even if they are horrible people, and that your kid should hang out with the rich kids even if they are spoiled brats and bullies.An 11 year old boy has to share his room with his idiot older brothers, so they can promote their lawn mowing business. They probably only make a few bucks, but their father buys them a computer because they have a job. They steal from their little brother and get away with it. Preston's father treats him like s"t because he doesn't have a job at 11 years old. He is forced to go to a bully's birthday party and not given enough money to do anything. For his birthday he gets a check for $11 (as punishment for not having a job?). His parents are not even poor. They are just being cheap. Later on, he has a bully steal his money and while chasing him almost gets run over by a car. His bike is ruined and he is given a blank check to buy a new bike. His father refuses to let him use the check he was given to buy a new bike because it was somehow his fault the bike got run over. Rather then feeling bad for his son for being robbed and almost killed, he grounds him.These parents are guilty of verbal abuse and child neglect. Where are they when he almost dies and why don't they care about their son who seems to be the only good person. They are however portrayed as good people while Preston is portrayed as a spoiled brat. All Preston wants his some freedom. Seeing as he is being bullied by his schoolmates, his brothers, and his parents this is not an unreasonable request. According to his dad he is old enough to have a job, so why shouldn't he have a little freedom?This is what I got from the movie after 20 minutes. If you enjoy capitalism within families, child labor, bullying, stealing, and child abuse this is the perfect movie for you.

Blank Check may have been an excellent movie for kids, but ends up being uninspired in every way.The movie begins with a criminal named Quigley and he is a robber who goes to a secret hiding place to get his million dollars. We then cut to Preston Waters as an 11 year old kid who is harassed by his family about money. His older brothers run a Lawn Cutting business, and the parents treat them better because they are already making money, and saving. They buy the brothers a new computer and place it in Preston's room. Preston tells his dad about that it's his room, but his dad scolds him for Preston not making money. The brothers though have no idea how to run a computer, and mess it up. Yeah I can see why these are the favorite ones (sarcasm). Eventually the family goes to a party and Preston is sent to ride on kiddie rides while the others are on better rides like a roller coaster. Preston even gets a birthday card, and only an $11 check. How cheap does this family have to be to Preston? He's already being pressured to find a job, and he's only 11! Is this some world where child labor laws don't exist? Preston goes to the bank to set up an account, and meets Shay Stanley who tells him he needs $200 to open an account. We then cut to the villains of the movie, Quigley, and the head of the bank, Biderman. Quigley learns the bills are marked, and sends for Juice, his other henchman. Quigley leaves, but accidentally runs over Preston's bike. Quigley writes a check, but before completing it he sees the cops, and hands Preston a blank check (ladies and gentlemen we have a title!). At home Preston's mom and dad are angry because Preston's bike got run over, and they scold him about not taking care of his valuables, and ground him. Seriously someone needs to call Child Services and take the kid away, and arrest the parents for negligence. Preston decides enough is enough, and uses the check to forge a $1 million check. Preston goes out to the bank (wasn't he grounded?) and meets Biderman who believes he is Juice, and gives him the million dollars. The real Juice comes by, and both realize they have been duped by Preston. Now to be fair, Juice seems to be the only enjoyable person in this movie. Preston creates a new alias name, Mr. Macintosh, and buys a home for himself, a limo driver named Henry who supposed to be comedy relief, but isn't funny at all. Preston meets Shay again, and tells him that Mr. Macintosh would like to meet her. We then learn that Shay is actually an FBI agent who is looking for Quigley, and the other villains. They even watch Mr. Macintosh since they consider him an interesting person which makes no sense considering that all of Macintosh's business is done by a kid. They honestly don't think it's weird or something? From here on in the movie uses a lot of filler with Preston on a shopping spree. I wouldn't mind it so much, but it keeps going on, and on. Preston explains that he has a new job as Mr. Macintosh's assistant to his family, and being the idiots they are they believe it. We get more scenes of Preston riding Go-Karts, playing games, hanging with the driver, buying a lot of ice cream, and so on. The movie then finally remembers it needs a plot, and we cut to, I wish I was joking, Preston taking Shay to dinner and then taking her to a geyser and get both of them wet. Meanwhile the villains are asking kids if they knew Preston, and one spills the beans on him, and they chase him down in the park. Preston and Shay get away and the villains are sprayed with the geyser. Preston then celebrates Mr. Macintosh's birthday, but it is his in reality, and soon realizes he has only a little over $330 in his account. Preston's dad comes into Mr. Macintosh's office, and tells him that he wants Preston to have a childhood, and to send him home early. What a hypocrite. Preston sends everyone home, and sits lonely around pondering his speech his dad told him. The villains though break into the home, and Preston needs to fight back. So the movie decides to go and rip off Home Alone with all the traps Preston sets up. The traps are dead ringers of Home Alone and too similar. Eventually Preston is cornered, and just as he is about to be killed, the FBI movie sin and Shay leads the party. The villains are arrested, and then in probably the creepiest moment in cinema history, Shay and Preston kiss on the lips. If this is romantic, the movie is wrong. This isn't romantic this is creepy on every level, and horrifying. I can imagine when parents took their kids to see this, they must have been shocked to see this scene. Shay continues the creepiness by saying she wants to see him in 6 to 7 years later. The FBI doesn't arrest her because? So the movie ends with Preston goes home to his family who celebrate his birthday obviously forgetting he lied to his family.Final Thoughts: I can't imagine why this movie passed as a family comedy. There are too many creepy moments, and the movie is rather mean spirited. The plot is predictable, the characters are flat, the family is negligent, the humor is dreadful, the romance is creepy, and it steals from Home Alone. The only good thing in this move was Juice. Blank Check will leave a blank feeling in you, and you are better off picking up Home Alone then waste your time and money with this.

Critics of this movie will talk about suspension of disbelief. But this is not a 007 tale. This is for kids and you have to be a kid to believe it. And fitting into that role is not as difficult as it sounds.This is a good romp with excellent work by everyone. And seriously: it keeps you going. Earlier in the day we saw Harry Potter 3 and almost climbed the walls, it was so tedious and boring.Again, you're going to hear supposedly grown 'preteens' say something about suspension of disbelief. Focus on the myopia these people are victimised by: focus on how they seem to think every movie is made for them. This movie is made for kids in the 10 year old group. If you can't appreciate it through their eyes - get a life, sucka.This one kept us going all the way. It is just cool cool cool and that kid is great.