The Big Picture

• Rob Reiner's film North, starring Elijah Wood, flopped at the box office & faced harsh critical reception.
• Renowned critic Roger Ebert gave North a rare zero-star rating, calling it one of the worst films ever made.
• Reiner defends North as a quirky fable about a child questioning alternative parents, despite the film's severe criticism.

In 1994, actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner was coming off back-to-back hits Misery and A Few Good Men, with the former nabbing an Oscar for Kathy Bates and the latter receiving four Oscar nominations in addition to scoring big at the box office. Next on his directorial slate was North, a comedy starring Elijah Wood alongside an ensemble including Bruce Willis, Dan Aykroyd, Jon Lovitz, and Reba McEntire.

Based on a story by Alan Zweibel, Reiner's film hit theaters on July 22, 1994, and promptly fell flat with audiences, grossing a mere $7 million on a $40 million budget. If that wasn't disappointing enough, North was also met with a dismal critical reception, with many considering it one of the worst films of the year and, in some cases, one of the worst ever made. Particularly brutal in reviewing North was legendary critic Roger Ebert, who gave it a rare zero-star rating and expressed merciless disdain for what he considered "one of the most unpleasant, contrived, artificial, cloying experiences I've had at the movies."

What Is 'North' About?

Disillusioned by a lack of attention and appreciation from his mother (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and father (Jason Alexander), the titular character (Elijah Wood) seeks emancipation with the help of a precocious peer (Matthew McCurley) and buffoonish lawyer (Jon Lovitz). Granted the legal opportunity to find new parents by the end of summer, North sets off on a globetrotting quest, essentially auditioning potential parents from various backgrounds. Meanwhile, his plight turns him into a media sensation and resonates with similarly disgruntled (ungrateful?) children around the world, inspiring them to rebel against their parents.

Along his journey, North encounters a series of adult characters, many of whom play as heavy-handed stereotypes veering into distasteful territory. From Texans and indigenous Alaskans to the Amish and native cultures of Zaire and China, North continually fails to find what he thinks he wants and needs from a new set of parents. But through his experiences and the aid of quirky wisdom provided by encounters with several enigmatic men — each played by Bruce Willis — North gradually realizes that his parents do, in fact, love and value him. Feeling betrayed by their pseudo-icon after he accepts his parents' love, North's acolytes rally to intercept and punish him as he races against the clock to return home before his court-appointed window of emancipation closes. What follows is a head-scratching ending that hardly validates or enhances what preceded it.

To say that North is a peculiar viewing experience would be an understatement. On one hand, Reiner's film is a whimsical and offbeat coming-of-age parable about childhood angst and yearning. On the other hand, it presents a darkly pessimistic and crude vision of youthful discontent and bitterness, straddling the line between playful, lighthearted fare and a palpably cynical take on the relationship between children and their parents. Between the film's shifting tonal sensibilities and attempts at humor that consistently fail to land, it's easy to understand why North didn't set the world on fire with audiences and critics, but many of the latter reacted with a level of scathing negativity incurred by few films in recent memory, and leading the vitriolic charge was Roger Ebert.

Roger Ebert Deemed 'North' One of the Worst Movies Ever Made

As his readers know, Roger Ebert never minced words in his reviews. Whether railing against a universally panned film or going against the grain in expressing utter contempt for a piece of cinema adored by his peers, he harbored no qualms about shredding a film to pieces when he disapproved. When North hit theaters in 1994, the renowned critic unleashed a fury of harsh words aimed at its narrative, humor, performances, and director Rob Reiner himself. Labeling it as "one of the worst movies ever made," Ebert lambasted North as an exercise in shameless emotional manipulation and morally bereft messaging, amounting to little more than storytelling that fails to deliver anything remotely entertaining or meaningful.

"I hated this movie," Ebert infamously wrote. "Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. 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." From a rhetorical standpoint, Ebert's bashing of North was and continues to be a sight to behold, and his overall respect for director Rob Reiner and star Elijah Wood didn't soften the blow. On the contrary, he lamented that a director and actor of their caliber would involve themselves with such inferior material. While he wasn't alone in his intense disapproval of Reiner's film, Ebert's uniquely passionate take on North would go down in history as one of his most infamous, even inspiring the title of his published collection of reviews, I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie.

Rob Reiner Has Defended His Decision To Direct ‘North’

Correlation doesn't always equal causation, but one can't help wondering if North's abysmal performance with critics and audiences had a lingering effect on Rob Reiner's directing career. Though he followed the film up with 1995's schmaltzy yet well-regarded The American President, his directorial efforts extending into the late '90s and 2000s proved a far cry from his stellar work in the '80s and early '90s. From This Is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me to The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally, much of Reiner's most beloved and acclaimed films pre-date North, and he seemingly never made a full recovery from the 1994 comedy's fallout.

Despite North's undesirable reputation, however, Reiner has gone on record in defense of the film. "I just thought, hey this is a little fable," he told Indiewire. "But the critics! Roger Ebert said, ‘I hated this movie!’ Seven times! He said ‘hated’ seven times." Taking Ebert's brutal review in stride, Reiner makes no apologies for North, relaying what his intentions were for the film and why it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor. "I wanted to make this little fable — this little kind of quirky fable about a boy who is questioning if he could have different parents," he remembers. "That fantasy that kids have at all times. So, I liked that."

While it's impossible to know exactly how critics and audiences will respond to any film, Reiner deserves at least some semblance of credit for taking a chance with North and subsequently standing by his decision in the face of overwhelming negativity. While North won't be mistaken for a great or particularly enjoyable film, there's something to be said for so effectively getting under the skin of one of cinema's most revered critics. Reiner should own that distinction and wear it like a badge of irreverent honor.

North is available to rent on Amazon in the U.S.

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