As I write this, Dennis the Menace is running on cable in the background. I'm half-listening to it, and I'm not watching it. It's that uninvolving.<br /><br />Great actors, a talented director and writer still can't save a bad script. John Hughes, fairly fresh from Home Alone, had contractual obligations to fulfill, and adapted Hank Ketchum's classic comic strip for film. But studio bosses like to meddle, and I suspect there was a lot of "change this, change that, it'll make more money" sorta stuff that flew around during production.<br /><br />It boils down to this. Walter Matthau. Chris Lloyd, Joan Plowright, and everyone in this film is wasting their time. The whole movie is pointless and dumb, and if you really want to watch Dennis at his best, go find the old black & white television episodes from the late Fifties. Even all the Oscar-caliber talent in this thing couldn't save it from mediocrity.<br /><br />Recommendations. Want to see these actors at their best? Fine. Here's what to rent:<br /><br />For Walter Matthau, The Odd Couple. For Joan Plowright, I Love You To Death. For Chris Lloyd, Back To The Future, all three of them. For Paul Winfield, Roots. Better yet, the Star Trek episode "Darmok". and for this film's director, Nick Castle, The Last Starfighter.<br /><br />Just stay away from this mess. Maybe that way it'll end up buried in the vaults somewhere and vanish into well-deserved obscurity.