Beethoven / Beethoven's 2nd

The head of the family is the one with the tail

BEETHOVEN (U)

D: Brian Levant

Universal (Joe Medjuck & Michael C. Gross)

USA 🇺🇸 1992

87 mins

Comedy

W: Edmond Dantes & Amy Holden Jones

DP: Victor J. Kemper

Ed: Sheldon Kahn & William Gordean

Mus: Randy Edelman

PD: Alex Tavoularis

Charles Grodin (George Newton), Bonnie Hunt (Alice Newton), Dean Jones (Dr. Herman Varnick), Oliver Platt (Harvey), Stanley Tucci (Vernon), David Duchovny (Brad), Patricia Heaton (Brie)

Predictable comedy about an idyllic family who adopt a big, slobbery St. Bernard dog which torments the father of the household by causing general havoc and annoyance, but the rest of the family adore the mutt, particularly the younger children.

Entertaining family fun for it's duration but it does little more than wag its tail and beg to be liked.

5/10

Did You Know:

Credited as writer, Edmond Dantes is actually a pseudonym for John Hughes.

BEETHOVEN'S 2ND (U)

D: Rod Daniel

Universal (Joe Medjuck & Michael C. Gross)

USA 🇺🇸 1993

89 mins

Comedy

W: Len Blum [based on characters created by Edmond Dantes & Amy Holden Jones]

DP: Bill Butler

Ed: Sheldon Kahn & William Gordean

Mus: Randy Edelman

PD: Lawrence Miller

Charles Grodin (George Newton), Bonnie Hunt (Alice Newton), Nicholle Tom (Ryce Newton), Christopher Castile (Ted Newton), Sarah Rose Kerr (Emily Newton), Debi Mazar (Regina), Christopher Penn (Floyd)

A surprisingly decent sequel to a rather average film. The story sees Beethoven father a litter of pups which are target for kidnapping by a criminal couple.

Despite the story being quite basic, it's a decent family film with its heart in the right place, despite some silly scenes which provoke eye-rolling rather than laughter. Even more sequels followed, but weren't of any particular merit and were subsequently released straight to video.

5/10

Did You Know:

According to director Rod Daniel, Chris Penn had a severe drug addiction during filming, and Bonnie Hunt was difficult to work with.