Film Snail

5.8

Dennis the Menace

PG·1993·94m

Family

Comedy

Family

Comedy

Summary

Mr. Wilson's ever-present annoyance comes in the form of one mischievous kid named Dennis. But he'll need Dennis's tricks to uncover a collection of gold coins that go missing when a shady drifter named Switchblade Sam comes to town.

Cast

Walter Matthau

George Wilson

Mason Gamble

Dennis Mitchell

Joan Plowright

Martha Wilson

Christopher Lloyd

Switchblade Sam

Lea Thompson

Alice Mitchell

Robert Stanton

Henry Mitchell

Amy Sakasitz

Margaret Wade

Kellen Hathaway

Joey

Paul Winfield

Chief of Police

Natasha Lyonne

Polly

Devin Ratray

Mickey

Hank Johnston

Gunther

Melinda Mullins

Andrea

Billie Bird

Edith Butterwell

Bill Erwin

Edward Little

Arnold Stang

Photographer

Ben Stein

Boss

Ethel Gerstein

Gaggle Lady #1

Rebecca Hogan

Gaggle Lady #2

Leona Toppel

Gaggle Lady #3

Peggy Goldberg

Gaggle Lady #4

Jack McGuigan

Gaggle Man

Corey Vane

Mike

Casey Gamble

Hide and Seeker

Diana Rein

Babysitter

Robert A. Saunders

Broken Arm Babysitter

Beverly J. O'Donnell

Elderly Babysitter

Suzy Brack

Next-Door Neighbor (uncredited)

Thomas F. Evans

Dennis Mitchell's Neighbor (uncredited)

Kirk Kelly

Kid in Window (uncredited)

Jeannie Russell

Neighbor (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Nick Castle

Novel

Hank Ketcham

Screenplay

John Hughes

Reviews

Kamurai

August 21, 2020

Bad watch, unlikely to watch again, and can't recommend unless you're just dying to see a poor version of "Home Alone" in reverse.

I've probably seen this before, but I can't remember it, and I used to read "Dennis the Menace" in the funny papers, can't say I was even that big a fan then.

And maybe I'm too much of a grumpy old man myself at this point, but this little brat is borderline evil in his stupid behavior. The old man is a jerk too, but it is largely reactionary.

I can't even remember the inevitable heart-warming resolution of the child lying to the old man at the end of the movie right before he does it again. It's like watching a serial killer documentary: this is a sociopathic character, and I'm glad we don't have modern day versions of this, at least not that I can see.