Beethoven (film)
| Beethoven | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Brian Levant |
| Written by | John Hughes, Amy Holden Jones |
| Produced by | Joe Medjuck Michael Gross |
| Starring | Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release dates | April 3, 1992 (USA) |
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Language | English |
Beethoven (1992) is a movie about a St. Bernard dog named after the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. It is thought that the film helped to redeem the St. Bernard's image which had been defamed by the Stephen King thriller, Cujo.
Plot
Template:Spoiler Beethoven starts off the movie as a puppy in a pet shop. Every child that walks by seems to pick out another puppy, and the owner of the store is having a terrible time selling Beethoven. Things look up when a leather-clad girl shows up looking for a puppy and takes an interest in Beethoven. This doesn't work out however, for when the girl holds him in the air, Beethoven pees on her. That night, two thieves (Platt and Tucci) steal Beethoven and most of the other dogs in the pet shop, hoping to take him to the laboratory of Herman Varnick (Jones), who plans to test weaponry on the dogs. Another small dog, Sparky, however, helps Beethoven escape his cage during the long truck ride. The other dogs notice and become excited. When one of the two thieves come to check on the dogs, Beethoven and Sparky jump out of the back of the truck.
Sparky is pursued by one of the thieves while Beethoven hides overnight in a trash can. In the morning, Beethoven sneaks into the Newton house and subsequently finds Emily (Karr), the youngest daughter, who believes that her father has finally bought her a puppy. While her father, George (Grodin) demands that the puppy should go, his wife, Alice (Hunt), and his children insist that the puppy should stay, and George finally gives in to their demands. While they are naming the dog, Emily plays a famous part of Ludwig van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, and the dog immediately begins to bark. Thus, the family decides to name him Beethoven.
As the family grows attached to him, George is left to single-handedly housetrain the pup, who regularly chooses to relieve himself in George's suitcase and on the living room rug. As the pup grows into middle size, the antics only increase. The adolescent pup scratches apart the door, sheds endlessly upon the furniture, and dines off of the kitchen counter. As Beethoven reaches 189 lb. status, he begins to chew the house apart. He also romps daily in the mud, usually ending with a brisk run around the house or a leap upon a nearby human.
As Beethoven grows up, he helps the children of the Newton household to become more confident. First, he helps Ted (Castile) gain more confidence in combatting the bullies at his school. Ted challenges the bullies to a fistfight, and Beethoven growls at them from behind him. Beethoven runs away when Ted sees that the bullies have fled, making Ted believe that he caused the bullies to run.
He also helps Ryce (Tom) to talk to her crush, Mark. Beethoven forcibly drags Ryce nearer to him after Ryce confesses her obsession. Thus, Ryce is finally able to talk, even if non-romantically, with Mark and overcomes her insecurity of not being perfect.
The family takes Beethoven in for a routine medical examination. They take him to Herman Varnick, who is posing as a veterinarian. Varnick has been asked to acquire a very large dog for deadly experiments, and to get the Newton family to give up the dog, falsely tells them that St. Bernards have been heavily inbred and are known to turn aggressive.
Later, Alice and the kids walk to a babysitters house; George has persuaded Alice to return to work with him. While the babysitter entertains Ted and Ryce a shrill sing-along, Emily goes out back to play ball, but the ball lands into a pool. When Emily tries to reach it, she falls in. She flails and cries for help as she can't swim, but the door to the piano room is soundproof, so her siblings and the babysitter can't hear her. Beethoven, however, hears Emily screaming from the Newton yard and saves her. When Ted, Ryce and the babysitter discover Emily, the babysitter wants to keep it a secret. To her dismay, though, Ryce calls her mother. Alice picks up the children and fires the babysitter.
Varnick returns to "examine" Beethoven, makes himself look attacked by puting red paint over his skin and urges Beethoven to knock him over by hitting him. George hurries to the rescue. Varnick says Beethoven must be euthanized or he may have to bring legal action. Emily saw Varnick hit Beethoven and protests, but the final judgment falls on George Newton, who decides to side with the veterinarian in order to keep his children safe. The veterinarian subsequently takes Beethoven to his testing facilities, where he plans to test explosive firearms on Beethoven.
However, Alice tries to reason with George about him having sided with a man they had only met for the second time instead of their own children, and George soon realizes the feelings of love he had deep down for Beethoven. The family follows Varnick to the facilities and sees what he has planned for Beethoven. George leaves the car and crashes through the glass ceiling of the building, while Ted drives the family car through the wall of the facility, knocking over some toxic chemicals and impaling Varnick with many toxic syringes. Varnick is drugged and later arrested, and the Newton family adopts all of the dogs he was keeping captive. Template:Spoilerend
Cast
- George Newton, played by Charles Grodin
- Alice Newton, played by Bonnie Hunt
- Ryce Newton, played by Nicholle Tom
- Ted Newton, played by Christopher Castile
- Emily Newton, played by Sarah Rose Karr
- Herman Varnick, played by Dean Jones
- Harvey, played by Oliver Platt
- Vernon, played by Stanley Tucci
- Brad, played by David Duchovny
- Brie, played by Patricia Heaton
- Beethoven (the dog), played by Chris
Beethoven's (Mis)Deeds
- Urinated on pet store patron
- Urinated in George's Briefcase
- Messed on Living Room Rug
- Drank out of the fishbowl
- Scratched up door
- Shedded on furniture
- Ate Thanksgiving turkey from table
- Chewed and drooled in George's shoe
- Jumped upon George with muddy paws
- Knocked over living room plant
- Ran through house trailing mud, and laid on bed. When George comes in to his room, Beethoven shakes all his mud and water all over George.
Sequels and spinoffs
The film was followed by several sequels: Beethoven's 2nd (puppies) in 1993 and three direct-to-video films, Beethoven's 3rd (Road Trip) (2000), Beethoven's 4th (Obedience School) (2001) and Beethoven's 5th (Hidden Treasure) (2003). It also had a animated TV series in 1993. Ironically, the voice of George Newton in the series was Dean Jones who played the villain in this film.