Beethoven's 2nd (film)

For the symphony, see Symphony No. 2 (Beethoven).
Beethoven's 2nd

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rod Daniel
Produced by Michael C. Gross
Joe Medjuck
Written by Len Blum
Starring
Music by Randy Edelman
Cinematography Bill Butler
Edited by William D. Gordean
Sheldon Kahn
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release dates
  • December 17, 1993 (1993-12-17) (US)
  • March 25, 1994 (1994-03-25) (UK)
Running time
 89 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $15 million
Box office $118,243,066

Beethoven's 2nd is a 1993 family film directed by Rod Daniel, and the first sequel to the 1992 film Beethoven. It starred Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, and Debi Mazar, and is the second of eight installments in the Beethoven film series. Initially, no theatrical sequel to Beethoven was planned, but it was produced after the unexpected financial success of the first film. Beethoven's 2nd is the last entry in the franchise to be released theatrically, as well as the last to feature the original cast.

Plot

In the home of the Newton family, George, Alice, their three children, and Beethoven are all well adjusted to living together. Beethoven sneaks out and meets Missy, a female St. Bernard whose owners are attempting to settle a divorce. Regina, who is seeking $50,000 in the settlement, has retained full custody of Missy and only plans to transfer her to Brillo, her soon-to-be ex-husband, once the divorce is finalized.

With Beethoven's help, Missy escapes from Regina's condominium, and the two fall in love. Ted and Emily become aware of Beethoven constantly sneaking out of the house and follow him, where they discover he and Missy had four puppies in the basement of the building. At the same time, the janitor of the building, Gus, also finds them and informs Regina. She reclaims Missy and plans to get rid of the puppies, even if it means killing them, but Gus points out that pedigree St. Bernards are worth a lot of money and suggests that Regina sell them.

Thinking Regina plans to drown the puppies, Ted and Emily manage to sneak them past Regina and take them home. They keep them in the basement so George, who they know would not want to deal with, won't find them. Realizing they took the puppies, Regina plans revenge. Ryce, Ted, and Emily take it upon themselves to feed and care for them, even getting up in the middle of the night and sneaking out of school to do so.

Eventually, George and Alice discover the puppies; George, angry at first, reluctantly agrees to keep them until they are mature. At this point, they are presumably 8–10 weeks old. The children name them Chubby, Dolly, Tchaikovsky, and Moe, and George re-experiences the ordeals of dealing with growing dogs.

Facing significant financial difficulty, the family is offered a free stay in a lakefront house at the mountains owned by one of George's business associates. Beethoven and the puppies, somewhat calmed down, go along on the vacation. Ryce attends a party with friends where she is exposed to vices of teen culture such as binge drinking and getting locked in her former boyfriend Taylor Devereaux's bedroom against her will. Beethoven destroys the house's patio deck, removing her from potential danger.

Regina and her new boyfriend, Floyd, are staying in a location unknown to Brillo, coincidentally near the Newtons' vacation residence. They go to a county fair with the dogs, and the children persuade George to enter a burger eating contest with Beethoven, which they win. By happenstance, Regina and Floyd were there and had left Missy behind in their car.

Missy escapes from the car with Beethoven's help while Regina sneaks behind the children and snatches the puppies from them. Beethoven and Missy run into the mountains, followed by Regina and Floyd. The family follows, eventually catching up. Floyd threatens to drop the puppies in the river below and George says the situation does not have to get ugly. Floyd pokes George in the chest with a stick, but Beethoven charges into it, ramming it into Floyd's crotch. He loses his balance, Regina grabs his hand, and they fall over the cliff into a pool of mud, which breaks, thus they are swept away in the river.

Five months later, Brillo visits the family with Missy, revealing that the judge in the divorce had granted him full custody of her and denied Regina's claim. The puppies, almost grown up by then, run downstairs to see Missy.

Cast

Christopher Masterson had a small role in the film. However, his older brother, Danny Masterson, had a leading role in it. They were not playing brothers in it so neither one mentioned to anyone that they were related. When producers went to view it, they noticed the resemblance and reshot all of his scenes with another actor.

Production

The film's park scenes were filmed in Montana at Glacier National Park, though only California was specified as the location in it. The house used as the Newton family home is located on Milan Avenue, South Pasadena.[1]

Song

The theme song, "The Day I Fall in Love", performed by James Ingram and Dolly Parton, was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy Award for Best Song from a Motion Picture.

Reception

The film gained a negative critical response.[2] It currently holds a score of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. It grossed more than $118 million at the box office worldwide.

In other media

References

  1. ↑ "The Beethoven House". Iamnotastalker. 2009-09-18. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  2. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (1993-12-17). "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Beethoven' Scores Again With Comedy". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  3. ↑ "ProReview: Beethoven". GamePro (64). IDG. November 1994. p. 104.
  4. ↑ "ProReview: Beethoven". GamePro (64). IDG. November 1994. p. 200.
  5. ↑ "Harvey Comics: Beethoven". Grand Comics Database.

External links

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