Dennis the Menace (1993)
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23% of critics liked it
(22 reviews) -
44% of users liked it
(239,519 ratings)
John Hughes continues the trend he began with the Home Alone series in Dennis the Menace, the Hughes-scripted film version of Hank Ketcham's long-running comic strip, cartoon show, and television comedy. The film opens as Dennis (Mason Gamble) is seen careening down a sidewalk in a beautiful and… More John Hughes continues the trend he began with the Home Alone series in Dennis the Menace, the Hughes-scripted film version of Hank Ketcham's long-running comic strip, cartoon show, and television comedy. The film opens as Dennis (Mason Gamble) is seen careening down a sidewalk in a beautiful and idealistic suburban town on his training-wheeled bike -- cans on string clattering behind him, baseball cards flapping in the spokes of the wheel, his red wagon filled to the brim and his dog following him. "Hey! Mister Wilson!" he screams and slams his bike to a halt in front of his much put-upon neighbor, Mr. Wilson (Walter Matthau). Half of the film concerns vignettes of small-town Hank Ketcham life as Dennis' mom Alice (Lea Thompson) starts a new job, Dennis stays over at his friend Margaret's (Amy Sakasitz) house, and Mr. Wilson and his gentle, well-meaning wife, Martha (Joan Plowright), mind Dennis during the night of a big garden party. Through all this, Dennis continually gets into Mr. Wilson's hair. But then the Home Alone plot kicks in -- with an unsubtle dose of O. Henry -- when Switchblade Sam (Christopher Lloyd) makes an appearance. Switchblade Sam is a homeless drifter who combs the neighborhood stealing purses and small home items. But when Switchblade Sam steals Mr. Wilson's collection of gold coins, Dennis comes to the rescue and inflicts Dennis the Menace-type tortures upon the thief in order to reclaim the coins for Mr. Wilson. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Directed By
- Nick Castle Jr., Nick Castle
- Written By
- Hank Ketcham, John Hughes
- Genres
- Comedy, Kids & Family
- In Theaters
- Jun 25, 1993 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Ty Burr, Entertainment Weekly
Its unholy mixture of peppy sadism and pious, self-righteous sentiment comes straight from Hughes' crabbed cinematic heart.
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
Very young children may find the numskull, by-the-numbers gags here amusing, but teens will consider this kids' stuff and adults will be pained.
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, Time Out
A smooth blend of sentiment and slapstick.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
Mr. Hughes and Mr. Castle try hard to re-create a kind of timeless, idealized comic-strip atmosphere, but except for the performances of Lea Thompson and Robert Stanton... nobody in the movie seems in touch with the nature of the comedy.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Those good qualities are undermined, unfortunately, by the Switchblade Sam character, who is dirty, threatening and scary.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Walter Matthau
as Mr. Wilson
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Mason Gamble
as Dennis Mitchell
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Joan Plowright
as Mrs. Martha Wilson
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Christopher Lloyd
as Switchblade Sam
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Lea Thompson
as Alice Mitchell
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Robert Stanton
as Henry Mitchell
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Paul Winfield
as Chief of Police
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Amy Sakasitz
as Margaret Wade
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Kellen Hathaway
as Joey
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Billie Bird
as Edith Butterwell
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Daiana Campeanu
as Babysitter
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Bill Erwin
as Edward Little
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Melinda Mullins
as Andrea
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Devin Ratray
as Mickey
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Arnold Stang
as Photographer
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Ben Stein
as Boss
- Jane Jenkins
- Janet Hirshenson
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Natasha Lyonne
as Polly
- Hank Johnston
- John Hughes



