I'll tell you why so serious

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

I know a lot of people bash this movie, and it is nothing special, but we thought it was a charming and (at least occasionally) very funny movie to "waste" an hour and a half on. I didn't even know John Hughes did this one until I visited this page! But I'm not surprised because, like many of John Hughes's other movies, this big screen adaptation of Dennis the Menace is funny, well written and on top of that it also has a lot of "heart" to boot.Christopher Lloyd being in the movie was a nice surprise and he does a very good job as the comic criminal foil to Dennis. I felt bad for him even while laughing at his pain. (He is basically like the wet bandits characters from the Home Alone series Hughes also did, though the first Home Alone is better than this.) Walter Matthau is fantastic as always in the role of a bitter, sourpuss type of old man neighbour, who Dennis is always annoying and damaging the property of.It's predictable and not very serious but there are lots of good family friendly laughs with a good story and performances, and it hits the spot.It even has a big, stinky flower!

First of all it has to be said that this film has no relationship whatsoever with the cartoon comic 'Dennis the Menace' you may have read as a child. With that out of the way you can now enjoy the film for what it is, not how you may have remembered a character from your youth.The film is superbly cast with Walter Matthau playing the grumpy old 'Mr Wilson' and a young Mason Gamble playing the role of 'Dennis'. Matthau really is on top form as strong as he was with Jack Lemmon in the 'Grumpy Old Men' films. Gamble is fantastic as the adorable but mischievous 5 year old and shows an acting ability way beyond his years with superb comic timing and wonderful catch lines.Full of laughs, crazy antics, hilarious childhood expression and the odd touching moment too, this is an entertaining film that keeps on giving scene after scene. It's a Sunday afternoon film to watch either on your own or with the kids, either way it won't disappoint!

Dennis the Menace is a good film. I love how they show the film being set in the 50's. However you can see that not everything fits in to the decade setting such as the automobiles used in the film.Mr. Wilson the curmudgeonly next door neighbor of the Miller's can't seem too tolerate their young child named Dennis. Wilson sees Dennis as a pest always trying to cause trouble. At some point the Miller's have to both go on business trips forcing them to try and find a babysitter for Dennis. Unfortunately they can't find anybody willing to watch him because of his troublesome manner. Well who's left on the list other than the Wilson's.Understandably Mr. Wilson isn't thrilled at the prospect of looking after him but his lovely wife Martha does not mind at all and is delighted to look after Dennis. Mr. Wilson puts up with Dennis and his antics for awhile but after Mr. Wilson's house is robbed by Switchblade Sam and his debut of his plant that is about to bloom gets ruined when Dennis tells Mr. Wilson his house has been robbed and Mr. Wilson doesn't believe him at first and tells him that he never wants to see him again. Dennis rides away on his bike and gets captured by Sam but he of course saves the day later on and comes back home.The characters in Dennis the Menace are thought out well. However I would have to disagree that Switchblade Sam would look like a total creep and be a thief. This is of course silly as any normal looking person can do bad things. Of course it is a movie and I suppose that he does look very intimidating in the town of clean looking folks.Dennis the Menace may not be for everybody but I think that it stays true to the comic and it is an enjoyable laugh out loud film. This is a good movie and isn't over the top with slapstick and should have most people with a funny bone laughing out of their seat.

Update at November 2008 I had been looking for this DVD locally, ever since I noticed Jessica in American Pie 1, and I had expected it to be very different to the Dennis known in the UK. It is. * This feels like a story for boys, not the sort of thing that I normally watch. Girls are few and roughly stereotyped, but so is Dennis, here age 5ish, so that balances out. A dominant theme as Dennis and the retired neighbour, Mr Wilson. A key secondary theme as Dennis and the burglar. The main girl in this is Amy Sakasitz, aged around 5, who plays Margaret, a rough tough who bullies two boys to tidy out their tree fort to make it into a home. Should one be surprised that her doll gets stolen by the bad guy, especially given how she has used her doll on one of the boys? As a loser type male to female I did find Amy age 5 as there to show Big Girl hazards. I normally avoid stuff written for boys. Except for early American Pie. Natasha as early mid teens? She is on screen for less than a minute, but it does link neatly with her other stuff that I have seen. She is a different sort of Big Girl. One of a long stream of baby sitters who tend to not settle down with Dennis. Parents only choose her as a last resort. Joan Plowright and Lea Thompson as mature women who seem there to show a side of women that I remember well from age 3ish. Angels who can make one really believe that female is so superior to male. Dennis dealt with nicely by these, it is obvious that such makes him more of a boy. He is a scrambled wreck though, but an effective wreck. Could be that Dennis feature has a stronger link with Trickbaby than to most other Natasha, but that would be despite these two. * A couple of years after this, Natasha is in the Woody Allen musical as narrator cum DJ, a major role. I am finding the music difficult as the actors who can sing their love songs well enough are key exceptions. A not obvious story as what is said is not what is implied, but it is fun. A couple of years later a whole batch of features which could relate to her having past school leaving age, they include Pie 1. Three years before, 1990, A Man Called Sarge, which I have not seen yet because the disk prices are a problem. If it is truly 'Airplane' type humour then I might not be able to relate to it too well. I am guessing that she only has a small role in this, descriptions say arab girl in a WWII desert war movie, a role she got after she had moved to Israel to see if immigration fitted okay. I am reminded of her song in Cheerleader. 1986 and Pee-wee's Playhouse season 1, affordable. Pee-wee seems to have been respected by kids and critics, both. I find it difficult, but with some nice bits. Maybe this is best for the under 8's. Natasha, amazingly beautiful, a gem, if loud and with one rabbit tooth missing, was in short parts of half of the episodes of season 1: 1-01, 02, 06, 08, 12, 13. Problem. My IMDb search for Pee-wee got blocked by the net nanny on the UK public access system I use. If me writing Pee-wee here gets a batch of Dennis comments blocked in the UK then it is me that will get trouble and that will not be blaming a fall guy? The Mighty Ducks Are The Champions (1992) tells me that Pee-wee does not have the same meaning in the USA. So, in the search I used a different presentation: no hyphen, no capitals. Heartburn 1986 is unlike the Natasha I have come across so far. It is maybe intended for women with a mature taste in people stories. It is not a comedy, even though some advertisers and others think that it is. Her age 5 or 6, I have noticed her in brief seconds of wedding scene 2, occasionally blatant Natasha, near the piano, dressed in peach, even asleep. * All of her early work is available on disk, unusual. Heartburn and Pee-wee and Dennis and also Everyone and I assume also Sarge as pointers to Natasha's later roles, not uncommon? I am reminded of the Buffy episode about inspiration, 6.07, Once More With Feeling. There is the impossible question of where the talisman came from. As a big baby I am finding Natasha to be one of the key actors whose earliest work I can look to for considering assorted aspects of reality. Others include the three girls in Annie 2 of 1995. These are people I prefer not to ignore, if not role models. I cannot relate to the role model idea. Natasha faces the IX elle aspect of reality and does that distinctively. If I ever face IX elle then her early stuff says that others do, too.