49
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Time OutTime OutA smooth blend of sentiment and slapstick.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThere's a lot to like in "Dennis the Menace." But Switchblade Sam prevents me from recommending it.
- 60Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyWritten 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.
- 60Los Angeles TimesPeter RainerLos Angeles TimesPeter RainerThis 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.
- 60Newcomer 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.
- 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.
- 50Chicago TribuneMark CaroChicago TribuneMark CaroThis 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.
- 40The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyMason 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.
- 40VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyDennis the Menace isn't really appropriate for anyone over the age of 12. Very young children may find the numskull, by-the-numbers gags here amusing, but teens will consider this kids' stuff and adults will be pained.