Review of Beethoven's 3rd

I really enjoyed the first film, and while the second had its faults that was pretty good as well. Along with the fourth film, which is little more than a mediocre canine rehash on the classic Prince and the Pauper tale, this is one of the weaker films of the franchise. The soundtrack is great and Beethoven himself is fun and huggable, but everything else doesn't work. Judge Reinhold takes over from Charles Grodin, and while I have nothing personal against Reinhold, he overcompensates by acting almost every scene like it is an amateur dramatics pantomime. Julia Sweeney looks really lovely as his wife but she is underused and looks embarrassed. I am not surprised that the acting was sub par for they are very ill used with a badly underwritten script, very amateurish camera work and a very formulaic plot. I know the plot wasn't necessarily a strong point in the first Beethoven film, but at least that film had charm and fun. The pacing is also uneven, and as the increasingly silly and unfunny antics wore on I found myself bored and caring less for the characters, especially those rather clownish villains. Not to mention a flat climax that felt rushed and abrupt. Overall, disappointing and mediocre. 3/10 Bethany Cox