Middle East Metaphor? (No joke)
As everyone knows, even the dumbest-seeming films are usually meant to be metaphors of some kind by their writers.
I remember reading an interesting interpretation of the film somewhere that went like this -- the film is a metaphor for the Middle East situation.
Clifford (the kid initially getting picked on) stands for Israel
Melvin Moody stands for any one of the Arab states with which Israel is in conflict
Ricky (the "bodyguard" Clifford buys to guarantee his defense) is the U.S.
Mike (Melvin's corresponding "bodyguard") stands for the Soviet Union
The funny thing is, if you think about the plot in these terms, it kind of works, beat for beat.