The Little Rascals

Kids may enjoy the slapstick of this modern reworking of the old Our Gang comedies, but parents who grew up watching them on TV (or grandparents who saw them at theaters) will wonder why anyone would want to be involved in this pathetic remake. Directed by Penelope Spheeris, the film takes look-alike kids and casts them as Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, and the rest, minus any sense of what made the old Hal Roach comedies funny. Instead of kids being kids, these are kids doing shtick while recycling such old bits as the He-Man Woman Haters Club, the kids' go-cart race, and Spanky and Alfalfa dressing as girls. Devoid of charm or wit. --Marshall Fine