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Filmtracks Recommends: Buy it... only if you are a die-hard Jerry Goldsmith collector and do not easily become tired of nonstop slapstick comedy with a full orchestral ensemble. Avoid it... if you found nothing special about the superior and very similar Looney Tunes: Back in Action score from Goldsmith. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
In Goldsmith's comedy writing, whether it's for Matinee, Bad Girls, or Mr. Baseball, there is usually a redeeming quality existing in the form of a love theme or other tender variation for fans who aren't interested in the bombast of orchestral slapstick action. Without any of that kind of truly endearing element in Dennis the Menace (at least not one developed long enough to warrant score-altering treatment), the score is one giant slapstick progression, alternating between variations on two themes: the one for Dennis and one sort of sneaky mischief motif like the deep woodwind one utilized by John Williams in Home Alone. The primary theme has some perhaps intentional likeness to The Great Train Robbery (and an interlude that probably unintentionally mirrors Poltergeist's children's theme), which might have some stretched relativity to the subject matter. With electronics kept at a minimum until some enhanced background tingling in the last two cues (with their high volume a little annoying at the very end), the orchestra's identity is led by tuba and harmonica, representing the two primary characters to the best of their abilities. These performances by the solo instruments weave in and out of the full ensemble throughout the score. It would be the most consistently robust and frenetic score from Goldsmith until Looney Tunes: Back in Action, which has an appropriately similar genre style, though Dennis the Menace lacks the instrumental or locale-specific creativeness of that later score. Among the highlights of Dennis the Menace --and with so many starts and stops from start to end, it's hard to recall any one of them over another by the conclusion-- are the victorious fanfare for brass at the outset of "Hung Up" and the suite-like presentation of thematic ideas (a la Matinee) in the finale cue, "Toasted Marshmallow." Overall, Goldsmith has to be commended for the difficult and sheer level of energy he maintains in Dennis the Menace, but it is that same energy, along with a lack of any substantially interesting or enjoyable solo theme material, that also sinks the score. The album is long out-of-print on the doomed "Big Screen Records" label, and is only recommended for the die-hard Jerry Goldsmith collector. ***
The insert includes biographical information about Goldsmith and the producer of the film. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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