Dennis the Menace - ep 69

Hey Mr. Wilson! This 90s update of the popular comic/cartoon isn’t half bad! Writer John Hughes continued to draw from the “Home Alone” well with more kid vs. bad guy pranks. Yes, “Dennis the Menace” has a bad guy that isn’t neighbor-next-door George Wilson. This movie has “Switchblade Sam,” a totally creepy and marginally inappropriate bad guy for a PG-kids movie, but he’s played by the always committed Christopher Lloyd. Great Scott, those teeth are nasty!

Old Millennials Remember Movies hosts Tyler and Angela feel a bit bad for ol’ George Wilson, played here by the incomparable grump Walter Matthau. His neighbors, the Mitchells, just let their FIVE YEAR OLD CHILD run around the neighborhood unsupervised, breaking into homes, messing with dangerous medications and household chemicals at every turn. “He’s only a little boy,” says everyone. Exactly! A little boy needs to be watched! Otherwise you’re going to get a blob of paint/wood chips in your BBQ chicken.

Dennis the Menace 1993 Podcast

Silly pranks and semi-violent pratfalls take up much of the “Dennis the Menace” run time. Still, the movie stops every now and again to touch on some surprisingly thoughtful content, including the Wilsons’ painful decision not to have kids, as well as Alice Mitchell’s (Lea Thompson) struggle to be treated fairly at work.

Also, Switchblade Sam has a switchblade!

The Old Millennials discuss these topics, as well as the real world inspirations for the film’s rare flower, “Home Alone” connections (Buzz returns!), the film’s frustrating refusal to allow for a “Back to the Future” reunion, Natasha Lyonne sightings and the overlong climax that almost ends with a character getting the Darth Maul treatment!

Also discussed in this episode

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