Beethoven's 5th (2003)

How sad is this?

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

There comes a point in a film franchise when you just can't make any more sequels. I saw the original "Beethoven" and "Beethoven's 2nd" and enjoyed them as fun family-oriented films, not any great cinematic art. After that I didn't follow the series for years until recently when I saw "Beethoven's 5th" in the bargain bin at WalMart. I bought it just to watch something mildly entertaining, but since it was the fifth in the series I expected it to be pretty bad. I was both right and wrong.You can tell from many of the comments on here that the preponderance of opinion weighs on the "bad" side of the scale, yet in a quirky way I found this movie entertaining. What was interesting was watching several well-known professional actors such as Tom Poston, Dave Thomas, Faith Ford, John Larroquette, Katherine Helmond, and Kathy Griffin all coming across as if they were amateurs starring in a locally-made production. There was something oddly authentic about it. I also found myself cracking up at some of the comments Dave Thomas kept muttering off-handedly under his breath (kind of like Popeye used to do). While looking for hidden loot Thomas and the kids encounter another treasure hunter who tries to sell Dave a fork he had found ("you just can't have enough good forks"), and Dave mutters something about looking for silverware in the woods after dark. Little asides like that just struck me as funny for some reason.Chances are many kids will like this. As an adult, I thought the story wasn't all that bad (but I do tend to like stories about mining towns and lost treasure). Yes, it's a sequel that probably shouldn't have been made, especially if you're familiar with the storyline of the originals. Still, I'm glad they made it because, on an evening when I was tired and stressed out and just wanted something funny to watch without a lot of involvement, this movie was just the ticket and was fun for what it is.

Odd, I really didn't mind this, as so many people seem to have. It was no great shakes, certainly, but it was perfectly pleasant viewing. Daveigh Chase, as usual, was promising, and the plot was perfectly usable. Not a classic, but not some 0/10 shocker, not to the target audience.Your average 6 or 7 year old will like this. And that's what matters, surely? I think some of the people commenting on this have managed to confuse themselves as to the purpose of the film. So...yeah...just stop it.6/10

I can't believe they are still making these films. In my opinion, they should have quit while they were ahead, after about the second or third film. But FIVE? Hardly any filmmakers make five installments unless they are incredibly stupid.

I can't believe they haven't stopped. This movie gets an F-. I've never seen such horrible actors and actresses in my life! The DOG acted better than the people!! It's clear to me that they whipped this movie up in just a few short weeks. It has no originality and the actors/actresses need A LOT of work. They just aren't good.