Dennis the Menace

Parents need to know that Dennis the Menace is a 1993 remake of the 1950s situation comedy. Expect a lot of exaggerated pratfall violence -- if Mr. Wilson isn't on the receiving end of Dennis' unintentional shenanigans (slipping, falling, golf ball to the groin, etc.), the antagonist (a scary-looking vagrant played by Christopher Lloyd) finds himself handcuffed, tied up, knife falling on his backside, etc. Dennis is kidnapped by a hobo. Dennis finds an old magazine in Mr. Wilson's basement called "Peep Show," with a scantily-clad woman from the 1950s on the cover. Little kids discuss "how babies are made (the mother's belly button opens up so they can enter). Dennis tells Mrs. Wilson how his parents like to "wrestle" on Sunday mornings, by themselves with their shirts off. A babysitter and her boyfriend make out on the couch. Later, this boyfriend reads a train-themed children's story to Dennis and misreads a line in the story as "all trains are impotent." Baked beans and the inevitable flatulence play a part in the action later in the movie. The screenplay was written by John Hughes, and like the classic 1980s teen movies he directed, there's a fair amount of "kids versus adults" noticeable to those familiar with Hughes' other movies. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.