Figure 1.--

Help Wanted : Kids is a Disney Premier production made in 1986. It features Cindy Williams, Bill Hudson-- the 'parents' with Chad Allen (playing Coop) and Hilary Wolf being his younger sister. The story is about a top end New York couple who both work in the same company as high powered advertising executives. They have no children, but both are happy and are moving up fast the corporate ladder. Unexpectantly they both loose their jobs on the same day. They suddenly find that they need children.

Filmology

Help Wanted : Kids is a Disney Premier production.

Chronology

The film was made in 1986. The costuming is contemporary showing american fashions in the mid-1980s. The story is somewhat forgettable and it seems to be a low budget production compared to the high standerd that Disney movies are made. Like all Disney movies it has the enduring theme of virtue and kindness winning the day. What makes the movie most interesting is how it has dated so quickly in the last 15 years - the wife has to dash around looking for a call box (no mobile phones), one scene shows a movie maker using a cine film camera instead of a video camera, the fx in the 'video fashion shoot' is decidedly dated compared todays music videos and most of all how boyswear has changed since then to the present day.

Cast

The film features Cindy Williams, Bill Hudson - the 'parents' with Chad Allen (playing Coop) and Hilary Wolf being his younger sister.

Plot

The story is about a top end New York couple who both work in the same company as high powered advertising executives. They have no children but both are happy and are moving up fast the corporate ladder. Unexpectantly they both loose their jobs on the same day. Caught unawares of this unhappy situation, they desperately look for new jobs.

Good fortune betides them and they get work at a childrens sports clothing factory in Arizona--Nirvana Sports Clothing. The owner of the factory is a hard of hearing cantankerous (but pleasant) old man with a conniving son in the managing team. Business is not going well. The couple leave the big city with excitement and arrive at the hick town in Arizona. They get lost and ask for directions by a roadside stall selling supposedly dinosaur eggs run by two children. They get to the factory only to discover that it is imperative that they have children - the owner is under the impression they have children and the only way they will get their jobs is well....to get some children..quickly. They remember the boy and girl at the road side stall and after some hastily made plans, gain their favour to be 'their children' temporarily. And so the fun begins.

Roles

Chad Allen plays the role of Coop, a 12 year old boy with the typical blond mop top hair (that Hollywood is so fond of) that with his younger sister live with their uncle in a trailer park near the factory. Coop is an enterprising boy, quick witted and seeks any opportunity to make money (as in the case selling fake dinosaur eggs). His younger sister is equally quick off the mark with her mouth so their 'parents' do not have an easy time with their robustness and manipulating temper tantrums.

Costuming

Coop's clothes through the movie (with the exceptions) is typical of what an average middle to lower class boy would wear: T-shirts with broad horizontal stripes, jeans and sneakers. For continuity he sometimes wears a well worn denim jacket that has its sleeves cut off above the elbow and is frayed. Sometimes Coop wore a T-shirt with a casual shirt that was not buttoned up, jeans and sneakers. Boys still wear this T-shirt and an open unbuttoned shirt today. One scene had Chad (playing Coop) with a simple dark blue T-shirt and close fitting jeans and with his expressive blue eyes and blond hair came over well on the screen. Another scene had Coop wearing a dark red T-shirt with a blue collar. Albeit a simple combination, it was nice combination of colours that enhanced Chads features and blond hair.

The exceptions to Coops dress is of interest. At a barbecue function organized by the factory owner for the employees and children, Coop arrives in ill fitting brown pants and lighter brown casual shirt. The trousers to me looked more like hipsters of the 1970s and the shirt with a collar looked strange on Coop for some reason. Coop looked far more natural and comfortable in close fitting T-shirts and jeans. It is also interesting to note one scene there is a fight between the children on the playground and none of the boys wears shorts pants. This might have been the case in the 1950 and 60s, but it is very unlikely, that it would have been the case in the 1960s. Se for example the HBC U.S. school chronology page.

There were two other scenes where Coop is 'dressed up' with what would be called 'loud' shirts. The shirts are a primary colour with vivid splashes or patterns of a different colour or colours. By today's standards it looks decidedly dated and loud. One scene had Coop wearing trousers that looked like the beginning of Cargo pants (?).

Though the above does not sound much but comparing to today's boyswear it is distinctively different. Whets more, boys have become more aware of hairstyles and distinctive. Boys hair in the 2000s is more likely to be consciously styled and the popular moptop looks decidedly not with it. As also in the case in the TV series Whose the Boss, young Jonathan's hair (played by Danny Pintaurro) becomes progressively more styled from the original moptop as the series progressed.

What has certainly become apparent is how boys legwear has dramatically changed. From the mundane copies of what men wore, boys trousers have become on it's own with it's distinctive styling and branding. Also in the movie, Coop appears in a fashion video. Here it also seems the boyswear were miniature copies of what men wore. Coop also wears a jacket with the sleeves scrunched up to his elbows posturing in the typical Saturday Night Fever pose. He wears a black lounge shirt, black trousers with a brown belt and a solid blue evening jacket. Hardly what boys would wear today.

Assessment

Help Wanted, Kids is a fun light hearted movie with a credible performance by Chad Allen. Though at times his acting was bit wooden and the more emotional scenes were not too convincing. However the close-up reaction shots of his face were well done. Chad seemed to play the role of the somewhat undisciplined, unmannered brat of a boy (Coop) very well. The interaction between him and his equally bratty little sister was good. It was however in the more sensitive scenes that his skills needed to be improved upon.

Andre

Created: September 10, 2001
Last updated: September 10, 2001