Bad watch, unlikely to watch again, and can't recommend unless you're just dying to see a poor version of "Home Alone" in reverse.

I've probably seen this before, but I can't remember it, and I used to read "Dennis the Menace" in the funny papers, can't say I was even that big a fan then.

And maybe I'm too much of a grumpy old man myself at this point, but this little brat is borderline evil in his stupid behavior. The old man is a jerk too, but it is largely reactionary.

I can't even remember the inevitable heart-warming resolution of the child lying to the old man at the end of the movie right before he does it again. It's like watching a serial killer documentary: this is a sociopathic character, and I'm glad we don't have modern day versions of this, at least not that I can see.

So this certainly isn't Dennis The Menace as we know him from the Beano comics. For starters he's not wearing his trademark red and black striped jumper. Also in this film, 95% of the mischief that Dennis gets up to is a genuine mistake. He's not really the mischievous brat that we know from the comics - he's just very clumsy! (So I find him more relatable in that sense.)
Speaking of appearances, the actor who plays Dennis' father in this film looks more like the geek Walter from the comic books, who Dennis always picks on! The Walter character is nowhere to be seen in this movie.

So watching it just as a stand alone film and not expecting to see any resemblance to the comic strips, it is an enjoyable movie. It is spoilt a great deal at the beginning by a young actress named Amy Sakasitz (who plays Margaret). She cannot act to save her life and I was really glad she wasn't in it for very long. Interestingly all the other actors, both kids and adults were rather good. Mason Gamble who played the lead role was brilliant. Walter Matthau and Christopher Lloyd are fantastic actors anyway so that came as no surprise.

It also comes as no surprise that it's written and produced by John Hughes because the film does have a similar feel to "Home Alone" and "Uncle Buck". And while it is an enjoyable film to watch, unlike the other two films I've mentioned, I see no need to return to it time and time again. Once is enough. But it's certainly enjoyable that once.