Blank Check

Blank Check is a 1994 family comedy from Walt Disney Pictures about an eleven-year-old boy named Preston Waters who feels overlooked and overshadowed by his siblings and his parents' constant emphasis on money. When a criminal named Quigley nearly runs him down while fleeing and hurriedly hands the boy a signed blank check to settle the damage, Preston seizes the chance to change his life. He fills in one million dollars, cashes it, and begins living out his fantasies of independence and wealth. His spending spree draws attention, however, and before long Quigley and his accomplices are after him.

Rupert Wainwright directed the film in 1994, the first of three features he made across a span of roughly eleven years, followed by Stigmata in 1999 and The Fog in 2005. The screenplay is by Blake Snyder and Colby Carr. Brian Bonsall plays Preston, with Karen Duffy as Shay Stanley and James Rebhorn and Jayne Atkinson as his parents. The cast also includes Michael Faustino and Chris Demetral as Preston's brothers.

Made on a budget of about 13 million dollars, the film took in roughly 31 million dollars worldwide, a solid return for a modestly priced family release. Audiences have been lukewarm: on IMDb it holds 5.3 out of 10 from more than 21,000 votes, and on TMDB 6 out of 10 from several hundred. A critics' rating of 3.3 out of 10 from eleven reviews sits well below the audience scores.