Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!

Don´t think that you will get great acting, or a great plot, it is just fun, old slapstick humor. So don´t take this one too serious and just enjoy this one and laugh....

I really liked the original DENNIS THE MENACE. It was funny, lighthearted and with Christopher Lloyd that played a great villain as Sam Switchblade. I saw the sequel out of curiosity but I really regret it and it sorely misses the cast of the original including Lloyd.

2 years after the event of the original Dennis Mitchell is worse than ever. He goes to Mr. Wilson (Don Rickels instead of Walter Matthau) to taking a small collection of tiny animals, but this makes Wilson fall down a flight of stairs and getting his birthday cake thrown in the face by Martha. Soon Dennis' grandfather Mr. Johnson (George Kennedy) arrives and tells the Mitchells he is going to move there. Dennis is happy and begins to spend more time with his grandfather. George is then upset that he is getting older and so is tricked by two con men, the Professor and his assistant Sylvester (Brian Doyle Murray and Carrot Top) that try to convince him in buying a rare root that should be put in tea for making people return younger. But they don't know Dennis Mitchell yet as he will do everything for foiling their inane plans while also causing more trouble for Mr. Wilson.

A different cast and a different setting are the most likely reasons of the failure of this direct-to-video sequel. The humour didn't made the laugh not even once, and most of the jokes made me cringe a lot. The actors here are all very bland, they never seem to actually act except for George Kennedy who is probably the only one actually trying.

Among the worst family movie sequels ever made, but there is something positive about it and I discovered it only after lots of thinking. So, what's the only good thing about this movie? It has never been released in theaters! Otherwise they would have made at least other 10 sequels each worse than the other.

What can I say, I loved the original and though Walter Matthau is somewhat missed, Don Rickles does a fine job of replacing him. Unlike most films where you can't stop thinking about how much better the original actor would have been, you start wondering who's better: Matthu or Rickles?

Not as funny or sweet as the original but still worth a peek.

3/5 stars -

John Ulmer

This is a cute, good-natured take on the Dennis the Menace story. You have vivid cinematography and appropriate directing/editing, some fine veteran actors doing their bits with utter comic professionalism, and amusing situations. It is all light-hearted, the villains are simply played for laughs (they could have given the Carrot guy more to do), and Don Rickles manages to keep his hammy tendencies under control. To take this seriously or think this is anything more than a vehicle for everyone to have fun is to miss the whole point - there is a definite place for films like this.

Most of all, it is simply nice seeing some familiar faces better known from many, many other roles and venues just buckling down and giving amusing performances that are just right for the characters. Come on, where else are you going to see ol' Don Rickles leap off a diving board or hang from a roof or have a hockey puck stuck in his mouth?

Kids (at least the ones I know) enjoy the Walter Matthau version, and they should this one, too. It is a family show that showcases the adorableness of all involved with tongue-in-cheek shenanigans and knowing silliness. Personally, I think Rickles is better suited to the Wilson role simply because he is inherently hammier and better supplied with expressions of pain and frustration (which are called for constantly in this role). The Matthau version was fine, too, just a little less saccharine and clearly intended for theaters. This no doubt intentionally plays like a tv movie, but a very good one.

A classy production in the Disney channel mold with no pretensions, perfect for family viewing.

The first one was practically a classic. i remember being Mason Gamble ( the person who played Dennis in the first one ) age when it came out. and i always remembered "Hey mr. wiiiiiilson!". I saw this one and i was thinking "um, okay???". If you've seen the first one starring Gamble, this one won't be as intertaining.