Beethoven's 2nd (film)

Beethoven's 2nd is a 1993 American family comedy film. Directed by Rod Daniel and written by Len Blum, it is the sequel to the 1992 film Beethoven, second installment in the Beethoven film series and the last to be released theatrically. Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile and Sarah Rose Karr reprised their roles with Debi Mazar and Chris Penn joining the cast. Initially, no sequel was planned, but it was produced after the unexpected financial success of the previous film.

Plot

In the Newton family home, George, Alice, Ryce, Ted, Emily, and Beethoven are all well-adjusted to living together. One day, Beethoven sneaks out and meets a female St. Bernard, Missy, and her owner, Brillo. However, Brillo's hateful soon-to-be ex-wife, Regina, arrives with her new boyfriend, Floyd, to take Missy away and threatens to keep her unless Brillo agrees to a $50,000 alimony settlement when the divorce is finalized.

Beethoven helps Missy to escape from Regina and Floyd's apartment, and the two dogs fall in love. Meanwhile, Ryce develops strong romantic feelings for her classmate, Taylor Devereaux, after he kisses her. A few months later, Ted and Emily become aware of Beethoven constantly sneaking out of the house and follow him, where they discover that he and Missy had four puppies in the basement of Regina and Floyd's apartment building. The building's janitor, Gus, also finds the dogs and informs Regina and Floyd. Regina then reclaims Missy and plans to drown the puppies, but Gus tells Regina that purebred puppies are worth lots of money and that she should sell them for a great price.

After hearing Regina's plan to drown the puppies, Ted and Emily sneak the puppies out of the apartment and into their basement. Ryce, Ted, and Emily take it upon themselves to feed and care for the puppies while hiding them from George. However, when he eventually discovers the puppies, George reluctantly agrees to keep them until they mature.

The Newtons are offered a free stay in a mountain lakefront house owned by one of George's business associates. There, Taylor invites Ryce to a party with his friends, where she is exposed to teenage drinking and sexual harassment. Taylor locks Ryce in his bedroom, but Beethoven destroys the house's patio deck, saving a grateful Ryce from Taylor's unwelcome advances. Regina and Floyd are staying in a location unknown to Brillo, coincidentally near the Newtons' vacation house. The Newtons go to a county fair with the dogs, where Ryce, Ted, and Emily persuade George to enter a burger eating contest with Beethoven, which they win. Regina and Floyd are also at the fair, but leave Missy in their car.

Missy escapes from the car with Beethoven's help, and they run into the mountains together while Regina snatches the puppies' leashes from Ted and Emily. Regina and Floyd follow the puppies through the woods and locate Beethoven and Missy at a cliff's edge. When the Newtons catch up, George confronts Floyd, who threatens to drop the puppies into the river below and pokes George in the stomach with a large stick. Beethoven charges into the stick and rams it into Floyd's groin, causing him to lose his balance. Regina grabs Floyd's hand and they both fall off the cliff and into a pool of mud before getting swept away by the river.

Five months later, Brillo visits the Newtons with Missy, revealing that the judge in the divorce has granted him full custody of her and terminated the $50,000 settlement, awarding Regina nothing. The puppies, now grown, run downstairs to see Missy.

Cast

The film was Danny Masterson's screen debut. His younger brother, Christopher, also had a small role, but when the producers noticed the resemblance, they removed him.

Production

The film is set in California, but the park scenes were filmed in Montana at Glacier National Park. The house used as the Newtons' home is located at 1405 Milan Avenue in South Pasadena.

Production required more than 100 smooth- and rough-coated St. Bernard puppies of various ages starting at seven weeks, who were then returned to the breeders. Missy was played by three adult short-haired dogs, and Beethoven was played by two long-haired ones, although only the dog who created the role in the first film is credited; a mechanical dog, a dog's head for specific facial expressions, and a man in a dog suit were also used.

Song

The theme song, "The Day I Fall in Love", performed by James Ingram and Dolly Parton and written by Ingram, Carole Bayer Sager and Clif Magness, was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe,

Critical response

Although the film was not well received by film critics, it received acclaim by audiences. Brian Lowry of Variety wrote that it "[amounted] to a live-action cartoon" and was "certainly a more pleasing tale" than the first. Kevin Thomas in the Los Angeles Times rated it "just as funny and appealing as Beethoven the first" and also praised Mazar as Regina.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 23%, based on reviews from 13 critics, with an average rating of 4.55/10. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave it a grade "A".

In other media

Beethoven: The Ultimate Canine Caper, a side-scrolling video game titled simply Beethoven, but based on the film, was released for Super NES, MS-DOS and Game Boy. Versions for Sega Genesis and Game Gear were developed, but they were never commercially released.
Harvey Comics: Beethoven (March 1994)