You know, I was today’s years old when I realized that 1993’s Dennis the Menace was written by the legendary John Hughes! Here in the UK, this was actually just called Dennis, as we already had a comic strip called Dennis the Menace, which was very different. However, I remember loving the Dennis the Menace animated series that this movie is based on from the 80s, and never being confused that we had two different things here in the UK called Dennis the Menace.
Where to Watch Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace was released on June 25, 1993. You can stream the film from a digital platform.
The Movie Review
Anyway, I had not seen this movie since I was a kid, and I remember really thinking that it was a lot of fun. However, this was a very weird movie to watch as an adult, probably 30 years after I last saw it…. Damn, I am getting old. One thing I completely forgot about was that Christopher Lloyd, Doc Brown himself, was in this movie, and he was the villain, playing a drifter called Switchblade Sam!
A Villain Named Switchblade Sam?
You may be thinking that it is kind of strange for a movie that is clearly aimed at young kids to have a character in it called Switchblade Sam! But I was kind of shocked by the tone of this movie. I think that John Hughes clearly went back to his Home Alone well for this movie, as it does feel like a Home Alone light kind of movie.
Classic Plot with a Home Alone Twist
The basics of the plot are the classic Dennis the Menace story. We have little Dennis, who lives with his folks and next door to his neighbor, the grouchy Mr. Wilson. To be fair to Mr. Wilson, Dennis drives him nuts and is constantly being an annoyance to him, often causing him great physical pain! Walter Mattheu is fantastic as Mr. Wilson, and to be honest, most of the time, he is mad at Dennis is completely justified.
Slapstick Comedy That Misses the Mark
The thing is, most of the slapstick humor that the movie has does not land all that well, especially if you are comparing this to something like Home Alone. Eventually, Switchblade Sam starts a crime scene, robbing the people of the town, including Mr. Wilson. This is a rare time when Dennis is trying to help Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Wilson getting mad at him does feel uncalled for.
A Strange and Dark Tone for a Kids’ Movie
I talked about the tone of Dennis the Menace before, and I need to go more into that now. You see, Switchblade Sam ends up taking Dennis as a hostage, but Dennis is completely unaware. However, Switchblade Sam tries to tie Dennis up, and there is even an attempted stabbing. There is still some slapstick humor here, but at the end of the day, this is a crook, whose nickname is Switchblade, and he was actively trying to stab a five year old!
Even crazier, he tries to stab Dennis again right at the end of the movie… this was a movie made for kids, and it features two scenes where a creepy-looking drifter is trying to stab a five year old. Granted, the movie tries to play it all for laughs. However, it just all comes across as so damn weird.
Final Thoughts on Revisiting Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace was not the worst movie I have ever seen. But this was one of those movies that was far better in my mind than it was in the reality of me watching it again after many years. I would be interested to know what a young kid watching this for the first time in 2025 would think of this. For me, I will never watch this again, but still, I must admit, I got a kick out of how weird the whole Switchblade Sam character was in a kids’ movie.
