There was a time when Rob Reiner maintained an epic streak most directors only dream of. Between 1984 and 1992, he delivered a long list of classics including ‘This Is Spinal Tap,’ ‘Stand by Me,’ ‘The Princess Bride,’ ‘When Harry Met Sally…,’ ‘Misery,’ and ‘A Few Good Men.’ Then came 1994, when he made ‘North,’ a movie with a massive budget and a star-studded cast.
While it featured Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Jason Alexander, the comedy turned out to be an absolute disaster. Critics didn’t just dislike it; they despised it. In fact, soon after its release, famous film critic Roger Ebert dropped a review so scathing that it far outshone the movie itself.
The Story Of ‘North’ Left Critics And Audiences Cold
‘North’ follows an 11-year-old boy who believes his parents do not appreciate him. Instead of working things out at home, he sues for emancipation and gets permission to travel around the world looking for better parents. Each stop introduces him to another exaggerated family.
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In Texas, a wealthy couple tries to replace their lost son, while in Hawaii, the governor wants to adopt North because he thinks the boy would attract more tourists. In Alaska, the film leans into broad stereotypes that many critics found uncomfortable even in 1994.
Meanwhile, Bruce Willis appears throughout the film as North’s guardian angel, in various disguises. His most memorable costume remains a giant pink bunny suit, a running joke that confused plenty of viewers more than it amused them.
The biggest problem? It arises in the end when North decides he wants his real parents back. He wakes up, only to discover that the entire adventure was a mere dream. For many critics, that ending erased whatever emotional weight the story had managed to build.
Roger Ebert Absolutely Destroyed The Film
Plenty of critics disliked ‘North,’ but Roger Ebert went much further. Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, he delivered one of the most famous negative reviews ever published. His closing paragraph has been quoted for decades: “I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie.”
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“Hated every simpering, stupid, vacant, audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.”
The review became almost as famous as Ebert himself and brought the movie unwanted negative publicity. Years later, Ebert borrowed that opening line for the title of one of his collections of negative reviews, called ‘I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie.’ Many people who have never seen ‘North’ have heard about this brutal review.
Ebert’s Review Outlived The Movie
‘North’ disappeared quickly after its release, earning about just $7 million against a reported $40 million budget. It finished with a 12% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Reiner recovered with later films, including ‘The American President,’ but ‘North’ could never escape its poor reputation.
The review remains, with film fans still quoting Ebert’s opening lines whenever a movie disappoints them. They have become shorthand for a critic who has completely lost patience with a film.
Sadly, Reiner’s ‘North’ has built such a strange legacy over the years. Most forgotten movies simply fade away, but this one left behind one of the most-quoted reviews in film history. This very review has now outlasted the movie that inspired it.
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