The AV Club had just posted a column about this, and I was vaguely aware that the movie was considered a flop. Their writeup is remarkably positive, and it piqued my interest.
Yes, this movie is flawed. It runs about two hours long, and that running time could have been trimmed a little. It tries a little too hard to hammer the ideas in place, and there's a strange sense of deja vu - there are a few jokes that were also done in Loaded Weapon 1.
And even though those flaws are pretty obvious, and drag the movie down, the idea is excellent, and the script could have been spectacularly great. The director was part of the problem, although it may just be an issue of editing. On the other hand, the performances might need to be altered to get the pace up a little.
The strangest problem that the movie has is that Schwarzenegger is starring in it. He plays the part straight, and I keep wondering how it would be if he was a little more self-aware. Or maybe just a better comedic actor.
At the risk of taking this movie too seriously, I think it addressed something important about movies. Part of what makes us able to enjoy movies is our ability to mentally contain them into their own continuity. Even stories that we're supposed to understand as taking place in the "real world" create a false sense of reality; everyone says the right thing. We don't take time up with people waiting for food in a restaurant, or going to the bathroom, or spending all day at work. Occasionally, movies will make certain efforts to remind the audience that this is "real." It works in the short term, but it doesn't last. This movie addresses this rift between reality and the movies by celebrating it. The kid doesn't want his movie hero to remain in the real world. And even if he did, that wouldn't be a satisfying ending.
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