Beethoven (1992)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Brian Levant

Writers:

John Hughes (written by) and
Amy Holden Jones (written by)

Release Date:

3 April 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Family

Tagline:

He'll grow on you.

Plot:

A slobbering St Bernard dog becomes the center of attention for a loving family but its vet secretly wants to kill him.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Animal | Veterinarian | Fairy Tale | Pajamas

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Charles Grodin	...	George Newton
Bonnie Hunt	...	Alice Newton
Dean Jones	...	Herman Varnick, D.V.M.
Oliver Platt	...	Harvey
Stanley Tucci	...	Vernon
Nicholle Tom	...	Ryce Newton
Christopher Castile	...	Ted Newton
Sarah Rose Karr	...	Emily Newton
David Duchovny	...	Brad
Patricia Heaton	...	Brie
Robi Davidson	...	Mark
Laurel Cronin	...	Devonia Pest
O-Lan Jones	...	Biker Woman
Nancy Fish	...	Miss Grundel
Craig Pinkard	...	Homeless Man

Also Known As:

Beethoven: Story of a Dog (Australia) (cable TV title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8/5 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Eleanor Keaton, Buster Keaton's widow, trained the dog Beethoven for this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene after Beethoven "attacks" the vet, Dad goes into the backyard and gets Beethoven to take him to the vet's office, the dog's neck and snout are mysteriously clean even though only moments earlier they were smeared with fake blood.

Quotes:

George Newton: Any kind of weirdness and Beethoven is gone!
Alice Newton: Weirdness? What should I watch for, hon? Wearin' my clothes around the house?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Animaniacs: Video Review/When Mice Ruled the Earth (#1.47)" (????)

Soundtrack:

Lady Marmelade

Watching it makes me want to give my own dog a great big hug!

Routine - yet appealing - family / animal comedy (that has spawned one theatrical sequel and three direct-to-video sequels) in which the perfectly cast Charles Grodin plays a grumpy, fastidious father who is persuaded by his family to keep a runaway St. Bernard that has escaped the clutches of a duo of dog-nappers.

I'm just a sucker for a good dog movie - or if not a particularly good one, at least an endearing one. "Beethoven" is perfectly acceptable entertainment of its type - with a strong likability factor to over-ride any criticisms of the script or film-making. It's not totally harmless - if you're a parent, you may have to explain some objectionable scenes to your younger children. But I do like it.

'Beethoven' himself (played by 'Chris') often steals the movie from nominal star Grodin. Dean Jones, a star of live-action Walt Disney pictures from the 1960's, is very amusing as the slimy villain. Oliver Platt and Stanley Tucci (who teamed together again for "The Impostors") play the two intelligence-impaired dog-nappers who work for Jones.

Co-writer Edmond Dantes is actually John Hughes, for those of you who don't already know. And you can tell: the dopes played by Platt and Tucci are obviously yet another clone of the Harry and Marv characters from "Home Alone".

Happy viewing.

7/10