Russ Thompson, Sr.

Russell Thompson, Sr., aka "Big Russ," is the loud-mouthed next-door neighbor of the Szalinski family. He is married to Mae Thompson and has two sons, Russ Thompson, Jr. (aka "Little Russ") and Ron Thompson. His only appearance is in the film Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, in which he is portrayed by Matt Frewer.

Personality
Russ is hot-tempered and easily angered. He is constantly at war with his next-door neighbor, Wayne Szalinski due to Wayne's inventions making loud noises which disturb him. He also is having trouble bonding with his oldest son, "Little Russ," as he wishes for Little Russ to be just like him, and is frustrated with his son's rebelliousness. He also struggles with his addiction to smoking cigarettes; he told his family he quit smoking, though they know he still smokes when he's stressed out or worried.

Despite these issues, Russ deeply cares about his family, and will do anything to keep them safe.

Role in the film
Russ is awakened by loud noises coming from his next-door neighbor Wayne Szalinski's house. Russ is preparing to leave on a fishing trip with his family and he needs his sleep, as they have a four-hour drive ahead of them. He opens the window and yells at Wayne to knock it off. His wife Mae sleepily tells him that what Wayne is doing involves construction, and Russ should understand this as he is a construction worker. Russ ignores this and instead goes outside to yell at Szalinski some more. When he goes to his backyard, he encounters his younger son, Ron, who was camping out in the yard in preparation for the fishing trip. Russ accidentally sets off a booby-trap set by Ron and is shot in the head by a toy arrow with super-glue on it, and he and Mae go back into the house to wash it off before the glue dries.

Back in the house, Russ asks Russ Jr. if he's ready for his fishing trip. Russ Jr. tells his dad that fishing is not his thing, and slams the door to his bedroom. Mae then informs Russ that Russ Jr. had been cut from the football team the previous day, and the last thing he needs is to be confronted by his father. Russ doesn't understand this and informs Mae that when he was that age he was captain of the football team, and if his father had wanted him to go on a fishing trip he would have been grateful.

Throughout the day Russ observes that while Ron is eagerly looking forward to the fishing trip, Russ Jr. wants nothing to do with it. He wishes that Russ Jr. could be more like his brother, but Mae tells him to give him a chance. He tries to get Russ Jr. to lift weights in order to build up his strength for the football team. When Russ Jr. continues to give his father a hard time Russ gets angry and yells at him. After this incident, Russ goes outside and starts to light up a cigarette, however his wife catches him.

Unbeknownst to Russ, Ron, who was playing baseball in the backyard to pass the time, accidentally hit the ball into Wayne Szalinski's attic window. Russ Jr. saw this and forced his brother to go with him to the Szalinskis' house to explain what happened. When the kids went to the Szalinski's attic to retrieve the ball, they were shrunk by Wayne's shrink ray, which had been activated by the ball.

Some time passes and Russ and Mae notice that the boys are missing. Mae asks Diane Szalinski (Wayne's wife) if she had seen them, and Diane says that her children, Amy and Nick, are missing as well. This greatly worries Russ.

When the Forresters (friends of the Thompsons who were to accompany them on the fishing trip) arrive, Russ informs them that they can't go on the trip, however, he lies to them by explaining that Mae isn't feeling well. After they leave, Russ angrily declares that the kids have made them waste their $80 deposit, and will be grounded once they're found.

Some more time passes and Mae decides to call the police to report the missing kids. When the police arrive, Russ is further angered when one of the officers tries to imply that the kids may have run away as a result of an argument with their parents. It is then that Mae reveals to Russ that Russ Jr. had not been cut from the football team, but rather had quit the team, and was afraid of how his father would react.

A deeply worried Russ goes outside to have a cigarette. While smoking, he observes Wayne and Diane Szalinski behaving very oddly, they are tied to harnesses suspended from a cable wearing helmets with lamps on them, and are calling their kids names while peering into the grass. Russ tosses his cigarette into their yard.

A while later, Wayne and Diane overhear the Thompsons arguing loudly, and decide to tell them the truth about what happened. Upon being informed that Wayne's machine shrunk their kids, Russ explodes and tells Wayne that he's the one who needs a shrink, as Russ believes he's crazy.

Eventually, the kids are found, and Diane informs the Thompsons, who come back to the Szalinskis' attic to watch the kids be un-shrunk. However, Wayne has trouble figuring out what caused the machine to work, as prior to all this, the machine had been blowing things up. The kids are able to demonstrate that it was Ron's baseball that had made the machine work; the machine had been producing too much heat causing things to blow up, but the ball had gotten in the path of the machine's laser, reducing the laser's intensity. Wayne manages to find the ball, but Russ tells Wayne that he must test the machine before the kids are un-shrunk. Wayne volunteers to have them test the machine on him, but Russ bravely insists that he be shrunk instead. The machine works and Russ is shrunk, then is restored to his regular size (or almost, as his cap, which he had taken off prior to being shrunk, is now a bit too large).

The kids then are restored to their normal size. Ron tells his father that he didn't mean to ruin their day, as he had wanted to go fishing. Russ Jr. tells his dad that he will re-join the football team if Russ really insists on it, but Russ says that he will no longer insist that he follow in his footsteps anymore, and can do what he wants.

Russ then decides to end his long feud with Wayne, and the two shake hands. The film ends with the Thompsons and the Szalinskis having Thanksgiving dinner together, with the food having been enlarged to enormous portions.