Russ Thompson, Sr.

Russ Thompson, Sr., aka "Big Russ," is the Szalinskis' loud-mouthed next-door neighbor in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. He is the husband of Mae Thompson and the father of Russ Jr. (aka "Little Russ") and Ron. He was portrayed by Matt Frewer.

Personality
Russ Sr. 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, Russ Jr., as he wishes for him to be just like his father, and is frustrated with his rebelliousness. He also struggles with his addiction to smoking cigarettes; he told his family he quit, though they know he still does so when he's stressed out or worried.

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

Role in the film
Russ Sr. is awakened by loud noises coming from his next-door neighbor Wayne Szalinski's house. He 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 he should understand this as he works in construction. He ignores this and instead goes outside to yell at Wayne 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 trip. Russ Sr. accidentally sets off a booby-trap set by Ron and is shot in the head by a toy arrow with super-glue on the tip, and he and Mae go back into the house to wash it off before it dries.

Back in the house, Russ Sr. asks Russ Jr. if he's ready for the trip. He tells his dad that fishing is not his thing, and slams the door in his face. Mae then informs Russ Sr. 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. He doesn't understand this and informs her 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 Sr. observes that while Ron is eagerly looking forward to the 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 Sr. gets angry and yells at him. After this incident, he goes outside and starts to light a cigarette, however Mae catches him.

Unbeknownst to Russ Sr., Ron, who was playing baseball in the backyard to pass the time, accidentally hit the ball into the Szalinskis' attic window. Russ Jr. saw this and forced Ron to go with him to the Szalinskis' house to explain what happened. When they go up to the Szalinskis' attic to retrieve the ball, they are shrunk by Wayne's shrinking machine, which had been activated by it.

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

When the Forresters (friends of the Thompsons who were to accompany them on the trip) arrive, Russ Sr. informs them that they can't go, however, he lies to them by explaining that Mae isn't feeling well. After they leave, he angrily declares that the boys 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 boys. 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 Sr. goes outside to light a cigarette. While smoking, he observes Wayne and Diane behaving very oddly, they are tied to harnesses suspended from a cable wearing helmets with lights on them, and are calling their kids' names while peering into the grass. Russ Sr. 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 the machine shrunk their sons, Russ Sr. explodes and tells Wayne that he's the one who needs to be shrunk, as Russ Sr. 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, it had been blowing things up. The kids are able to demonstrate that it was Ron's baseball that had made it work; it had been producing too much heat causing things to blow up, but the ball had gotten in the path of its ray, reducing it intensity. Wayne manages to find the ball, but Russ Sr. tells him that he must test the machine before the kids are un-shrunk. Wayne volunteers to have them test the machine on him, but he bravely insists that he be shrunk instead. It works and Russ Sr. is shrunk, then returned to normal size (or almost, as his cap, which he had taken off prior to being shrunk, is now a bit too large).

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

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