The only reason I watched this whole thing through was it just had to get better at some point. It HAD to! There was just too much talent on the screen for this mess to keep stumbling along at low speed. Martin Short stars as the title character who is apparently a ten year old boy. At least he is supposed to be. Anyway, he is truly a monster. He plays a series of cruel practical jokes on his uncle played by Charles Grodin. Grodin has agreed to watch the little brat for whatever reason I don't quite recall. He hopes that taking care of the little tyke will impress Mary Steenburgen whom he is intending to marry. Grodin is basically one of those long-term bachelors (like yours truly) who waited until practically middle age to settle down. Hopefully bonding with the young man will show his lady that he is in fact a good catch.The first time you look at Martin Short, and accept the premise that he is in fact a little boy, you begin to expect to laugh. But the filmmakers must have thought the premise was enough, since they just don't give Clifford and his uncle enough funny things to do. Most of the pranks are cruel, and a few are admittedly funny. The only real laughs I had were watching Grodin's reactions to some of the pranks. He was a really talented guy, but it looks like he mostly retired after this came out. Hard to blame him. There is a stupid subplot involving Dabney Coleman trying to win Steenburgen over and eventually almost trying to rape her in the back of a limo. Ha ha. The film has a cheap look to it, and its no surprise to learn it was actually filmed in 1990. This was during a bleak period of American cinema when even some of the better films were just lazily made. The climax of this film takes place at a Dinosaur themed amusement park that looks incredibly cheap and mostly made with cardboard and matte paintings. The musical score is a generic up-beat, by-the-numbers deal that sounds like something Danny Elfman would have wadded up and thrown in the garbage in a fit of despair.The stars of this film deserved something better, and I have no doubt that better writers and a better director could have had something here. But as it stands, Clifford is an unfunny, mean-spirited mess. And a big waste of talent. 3 of 10 stars.The Hound.

The movies of the genius troublemaker kid, or let's say the anti-Disney child, lived their own era during the first half of the 1990s. Starting with the massive success of (Home Alone - 1990) and (Problem Child - 1990). Then Hollywood's followers (Problem Child 2 - 1991), (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - 1992), to suddenly recall an old TV series from the 1950s end to remake it in (Dennis the Menace - 1993). Before the decline of the matter into TV ones like (Problem Child 3 Junior in Love - 1995), there was another last flick : (Clifford) which was produced during the peak in 1991, but Orion's bankruptcy delayed the release.Unlike the Problem Child filthy movies, (Clifford) is nice fun. Choosing (Martin Short) as the title role was bold unpredictable move; it could've ruined the whole thing but on the contrary it didn't. He portrayed the devil in devilish way, making a smart irony, attracting more audience as he is more than hiring a kid in the first place; noticing that this opinion comes from one who's not originally one of his fans. (Charles Grodin) looked great as the wronged one (read : us in the events). The screenplay is wonderfully entertaining for both kids and grown-ups, yet I didn't understand how (Clifford) blew up the design by a cassette tape?, or why exactly (Grodin)'s character forgave him at the end?. But still small laughable movie with some witty moments and effluent pace. Maybe not explosive as some used to, maybe not filthy as some may like, but sure it's fast 90 minutes that leaves you longing for more.P.S : there is one clever point this movie made, that the super naughty kid could be the seed of ideal man someday.

I worked on the advertising for this film so I saw it many times. The fact that many people seem to find it funny is chilling. It is lame, witless distasteful, poorly staged and acted and generally nasty looking. The strange writhings of Martin Short are deeply embarrassing and at no point can he possibly be mistaken for a 10 year old boy.If this was an on purpose plot point it is never developed or exploited. Instead you are expected to believe in this grown up (though odd) man as a juvenile, for no other reason than the film makers pretense that that is what he is.About as funny as a collapsed lung. Why it was ever made is yet another Hollywood mystery.

I just watched this movie on TV and came here to see what other people think about it. I was very much shocked to see that the lead actor Martin Short was 40+ when this movie was made. He is playing a 10 year old brat in this movie and I got to say he has done very well at that. Though he doesn't quite look like a 10 year old but he surely comes close to it. This is a movie about a 10 year old boy, Clifford, who is very mischievous and raises hell everywhere he goes. Sick of his mischiefs, his parents leave him with his Uncle who is a middle-aged man and is trying to convince her fiancée that he likes kids and that's the reason why he agrees to keep Clifford with him. As the movie goes on, Clifford completely destroys his Uncle's life with his pranks because he didn't take him to the local Dinosaur Park. Although the ending wasn't the best but most of the movie is really good. This may not be the best movie you'll ever see but its a nice one to watch with your family. I think kids will really like it. It is really hilarious. I was very surprised to see the IMDb user rating for this movie being a moderate 4.2 and that's why I thought I should stand up for this movie. I think its far better than what the rating suggests.