Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Walter MatthauGeorge Wilson
- Mason GambleDennis Mitchell
- Joan PlowrightMartha Wilson
- Christopher LloydSwitchblade Sam
- Lea ThompsonAlice Mitchell
- Robert StantonHenry Mitchell
- Amy SakasitzMargaret Wade
- Kellen HathawayJoey
- Paul WinfieldChief of Police
- Natasha LyonnePolly
Recommendations
- 70
Time Out
A smooth blend of sentiment and slapstick. - 63
Chicago Sun-Times
There's a lot to like in "Dennis the Menace." But Switchblade Sam prevents me from recommending it. - 60
Washington Post
Written and produced by John Hughes, it's a kiddie action comedy much indebted to Hughes's "Home Alone," but with much less of its meanness. - 60
Los Angeles Times
This John Hughes production (citywide) based on the Hank Ketcham comic strip is pretty tepid tomfoolery but at least it’s not assaultive in the way that most kids’ films are nowadays. It’s trying for giggles instead of guffaws. - 60
Empire
Newcomer Mason Gamble manages to be terminally cute without getting on your nerves, and his reluctant friendship with prissy eight-year-old feminist-with-a-lisp Margaret (who tricks his friend into kissing her doll's bum and then taunts him with the "baby-rump-kisser") is simply hysterical. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
This film doesn't know who its target audience is. Adults will find it plodding and predictable. Parents of small children should think twice about letting them see this film: the violence is cartoonish, but still brutal, and much of the dialog will be over their heads. Perhaps teenagers will enjoy it (perhaps they'll get some really neat ideas from it, too). John Hughes' vision of Dennis is much more menacing than Ketcham's fans and parents of small children might reasonably expect. - 50
Chicago Tribune
This isn't the first time Hughes has targeted kids who like reruns, though he does seem to be working his way back age-wise. He's progressed from his original brat-pack teens to a pesky 10-year-old in "Home Alone" to the 5-year-old here. If his next movie is called "Swee'Pea," you've been warned. - 40
The New York Times
Mason Gamble, the 7-year-old who plays the title role, won't be any competition for Macaulay Culkin of "Home Alone." He's a handsome boy, but he displays none of the spontaneity that initially made Mr. Culkin so refreshing. He seems to follow direction well, if in a somewhat robotic way.
