Beethoven's 5th

I enjoyed the first Beethoven film, it was flawed but it was cute and charming. The second had its contrivances but it was watchable, while the third and fourth films were mediocre at best. So what can I say about Beethoven's 5th? My, my, my, this is by far the worst of the series, a real dog of a movie with one redeeming quality. And I have already given away that redeeming quality in the title. Yes, sorry to say, but for me Beethoven was the only good thing about this film, he is likable, funny and well trained and he is the only likable character here. I guess I could say the same for the previous two canine adventures, though the films themselves didn't quite reach this one's awfulness. Everything else did not work at all. The soundtrack, one of the redeeming qualities of the previous films, isn't necessarily horrendous, it is just the matter of how it was placed in the film. Sometimes it felt obtrusive and predictable here. But that isn't the worst part. Beethoven's 5th I felt was shoddily made, almost direct-to-video quality. Even worse than this was the direction, it was so awful and unfocused. The script has too many cheesy moments, and the plot is dreadfully weak. I know the plot wasn't necessarily a strong point of the first film not to mention the sequels that followed, but here it is disjointed and poorly structured with no sense of drive. And the characters, with the exception of Beethoven, don't have any sparkle. The actors just look as though they are trying to say here I am, and what am I doing in this movie, in short they looked embarrassed even those who were trying to give the film energy did not succeed due to the failure of the script and plot. Overall, this is an awful entry of the Beethoven series. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Sara (Daveigh Chase) has been bratty lately and got kicked out of summer camp. Thus, she and her big St. Bernard, Beethoven, are sent to Quicksilver, a small town. Uncle Freddy (Dave Thomas) is glad to have her but Sara thinks he is weird and his ideas for meals just awful. But, pretty soon, with the help of a new friend Garrett, she is enjoying the spirit of the small community. The best part is that, on a walk at night with her uncle, Beethoven finds an old $100 bill that may be part of a long ago bank robbery. The mayor (John Laroquette) is extremely excited at this discovery but the town's librarian (Tom Poston) is not happy at all. Why not, one asks? It's complicated. Also, the town's boutique owner (Kathy Griffin) is not liking Sara too much, either, as her little dog gets out of hand when Beethoven is near. Can Sara, Uncle Freddy and Garrett find the old money stash and get rich? This darling continuation of the Beethoven series has a new venue away from Suburbia and it is a good change of pace. Also, the cast is really wonderful, with the above mentioned and also Faith Ford as the town's sheriff and Katherine Helmond as an eccentric neighbor. Families will enjoy a Fifth of Beethoven!

Look, i'll admit the 1st beethoven was a great piece of film. filled with suspense, a bad guy, and a father who's between a rock and a hard place. now, over 10 years later, we get a piece of crap about a girl who goes to her uncles place for the worst summer ever. right away, she meets a friend of the opposite sex, a hot female cop, and the crazed guy who thinks the world will be flooded again. sounds like that flipper movie with elijah wood and paul hogan, right? So folks, if you happen to catch this on TV, watch it to see what you think, but i'll tell you it's nothing more than a stupid excuse for a summer movie. If you want movie with all this and more, watch flipper, with elijah wood and paul hogan.

This is an unfortunate combination of G-rated, wannabe "Scooby-Doo" and, perhaps, wannabe Disney.

It's not the fault of the cast: goodness knows, between the dog and ALL the cameo appearances by people you know from TV who form the central 'character pool', and the 'quaint' town/landscape, it's ALL so wonderful. Indeed, should have been so.

And that's the catch. There is a complete lack of real or perceived threat. Imagine "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" without the bears. Think about "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" without the Evil Queen. Contemplate "Scooby-Doo" without ANY frisson of fear...

I know that 'B5' is just one more in a sequence of sequels - but surely SOMEONE could have put some 'oomph' into the script?

The occasional (jokey) reference to "Scooby-Doo" doesn't work at all. And Beethoven's legendary "eve-of-destruction" behaviour is as muted as the rest of this stinker. He just burps for goodness sake. Doesn't even fart!

Odd, I really didn't mind this, as so many people seem to have. It was no great shakes, certainly, but it was perfectly pleasant viewing. Daveigh Chase, as usual, was promising, and the plot was perfectly usable. Not a classic, but not some 0/10 shocker, not to the target audience.

Your average 6 or 7 year old will like this. And that's what matters, surely? I think some of the people commenting on this have managed to confuse themselves as to the purpose of the film. So...yeah...just stop it.

6/10