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Review of Dennis the Menace (Jerry Goldsmith)

1993 Big Screen

2014 La-La Land

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... only if you are a dedicated Jerry Goldsmith collector and do not quickly lose patience with the composer's nonstop slapstick comedy mode for 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 or if you expect to hear his trademark electronics make more than a token contribution.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Dennis the Menace: (Jerry Goldsmith) Attempting to continue the enormous fiscal success of Home Alone, one of the top grossing films of all time back during its craze in the early 1990's, producer John Hughes tells the very similarly-themed live action tale of Dennis Mitchell, perhaps the most famous kid in the history of comics. Created by Hank Ketcham and introduced in newspaper comics in 1951, Dennis has become a favorite in periodicals ever since, and his appearances eventually expanded to include a weekly television series, an animated program, and the 1993 feature film, Dennis the Menace. The film was largely ignored by audiences that had already enjoyed their fill of two Home Alone pictures and identified Dennis the Menace as a recycled old formula. The casting and settings were very well done, often appearing in live action just as you have expected them from reading the comics, but the film suffered from two fatal flaws: first, the slapstick, cruel comedy towards Dennis' neighbor, Mr. Wilson, had already been done to more deserving people in the aforementioned Home Alone films, and secondly, the inclusion of Christopher Lloyd's "Switchblade Sam" character (a thief and, in today's culture, probably a pervert, too) who served only to make parents even more fearful of long-haired weirdos wandering around the neighborhood. Composer Jerry Goldsmith seemed to have caught the John Hughes train (and plane and automobile) of success too late to really take advantage of it in his effort to further expand his considerable quantity of ventures into the light comedy realm in the early 1990's. His score for Dennis the Menace resides within a film that causes parents to glance for an hour and a half at the nearest exit, giving it a disadvantage over, for instance, his numerous scores for Joe Dante's more adult-friendly films. Goldsmith's exercise in Dennis the Menace is just that: a workout of marathon comedic proportions. The composer's proficiency in this genre is executed in mostly the orchestral domain this time, a rare circumstance in which his synthetic elements are diminished to a purely background role. Also absent are the outwardly funny nods of inspiration that often graced (or plagued) his other works, techniques aimed squarely at laughs, and in this regard, it's something of a shame that Goldsmith decided against applying his usual sound effects to this endeavor.

In Goldsmith's comedy writing of this era, whether it was 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 significant treatment), the score is one giant slapstick progression, alternating between variations on two themes, one for Dennis and one sort of sneaky mischief motif like the deep woodwind identity 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 (though their high volume in the mix is a little annoying at the very end), the orchestra's personality 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, the tuba trying especially hard to yank out some laughs with its usual belching mannerisms. It was the most consistently robust and frenetic orchestral score of its kind 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 creativity of that later score. Among the highlights of Dennis the Menace (honestly, it's difficult to recall any one of them by the conclusion) are the victorious fanfare for brass at the outset of "Hung Up" and the suite-like presentation of thematic ideas (similar to Matinee) in the finale cue, "Toasted Marshmallows." Overall, Goldsmith has to be commended for the difficult, 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 thematic material, that also sinks the score. The score-only album went out-of-print on the doomed Big Screen Records label before long, but it was resurrected on an expanded 2014 La-La Land product that fleshed out additional anonymous material mostly in the first half. On any album, it is only recommended for die-hard Jerry Goldsmith collectors whose tolerance of the composer's children's genre tones exists without boundaries.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

1993 Big Screen Album:
Total Time: 41:22

• 1. Dennis the Menace (Main Title) (2:52) • 2. Baby Sitting (3:50) • 3. Fun with False Teeth (1:54) • 4. Bed Time (5:10) • 5. The Shaggy Dog (4:02) • 6. The Heist (4:14) • 7. Wanna See my Sling Shot (1:21)

• 8. Tied Up (2:08) • 9. Beans (4:09) • 10. Real Love (1:29) • 11. Hung Up (1:29) • 12. He's Back (2:18) • 13. Forgetful Sam (1:28) • 14. Toasted Marshmellow (4:22)

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2014 La-La Land Album:
Total Time: 77:44

• 1. Our Town (2:54) • 2. Take an Aspirin (3:16) • 3. The Plant (0:46) • 4. The Doll (1:24) • 5. Sound Games (0:43) • 6. Hide and Seek (1:55) • 7. Dollnapping (3:04) • 8. The Shower/Broken Flowers (2:07) • 9. Spilled Paint (1:10) • 10. A Funny Taste (1:15) • 11. Babysitting (3:45) • 12. The Dentures/The Purse (4:00) • 13. Bed Time (5:13) • 14. Shaggy Dog Story (4:05) • 15. Redecorating (1:00) • 16. A Mistake (0:48) • 17. The Heist (4:16)

• 18. Remembering Dennis (0:56) • 19. The Slingshot (1:22) • 20. Tied Up (2:11) • 21. Beans (4:11) • 22. The Search (0:38) • 23. Real Love (1:31) • 24. Hung Up (1:30) • 25. He's Back (2:20) • 26. Forgetful Sam (1:29) • 27. Toasted Marshmallows (4:30) Bonus Tracks: (15:25) • 28. Babysitting (Original Album Version) (3:53) • 29. Fun With False Teeth (Original Album Version) (1:57) • 30. Bed Time (Original Album Version) (5:12) • 31. Toasted Marshmallows (Original Album Version) (4:23)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert of the 1993 album includes biographical information about Goldsmith and the producer of the film. That of the 2014 La-La Land album contains extensive notation about the score and film.

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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Dennis the Menace are Copyright © 1993, 2014, Big Screen Records, La-La Land Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/26/98 and last updated 8/17/14.