Beethoven is a movie about a big dog with big, sloppy, generous dollops of fun and frolic. Beethoven, the Saint Bernard, came, was seen by and conquered the Newton family.
Mom and kids were easy. Dad took just a little bit longer. Let’s face it. Saint Bernards are not the easiest dogs to resist. Think of a friendly elephant with a furry coat. Be prepared to be bowled over when you watch this movie.
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In 1992, Universal Pictures hired Brian Levant to direct the film Beethoven written by John Huges and Amy Holden Jones. Charles Grodin played George Newton, the head of the Newton family, Bonnie Hunt played Alice, his wife and Dean Jones got the role of Herman Varnick, the mandatory villain. The cameraman tried his best to fit them into the scenes, or at least parts of the scenes which were not filled by Beethoven, the Saint Bernard.
Saint Bernards are big dogs. Correction. Saint Bernards are huge dogs. Drape a big rug – a red and white furry one if you have it – over your sofa and you will begin to get an idea of how big a Saint Bernard is.
The honor of being the world’s heaviest and biggest dog belonged to a Saint Bernard named Benedictine, which was 9 feet long and weighed 166 kilograms. The average Saint Bernard weighs between 64 and 120 kilograms. The most noticeable part of a Saint Bernard is it’s large head. The next noticeable thing is that Saint Bernards have thick coats which are usually red with white. And holds a huge amount of water. Said amount of water being most noticeable when a Saint Bernard shakes itself off after a bath or a swim.
In the Beethoven movie, the Newton family probably did not have access to the above information when a cute roly-poly Saint Bernard puppy wandered into their home and lives. Otherwise, they would either have (a) moved to a bigger house – make that much, much bigger house – or (b) moved somewhere where there were lots and lots of open spaces, like in the middle of the Great Prairies. Rejecting the pup was never an option.
George, as the nominal head of the family, was not particularly excited about this furry addition to his household but he was totally outvoted by Mom and the three kids. So the puppy stayed and was duly named Beethoven. Then Beethoven grew and grew and grew even more. By the time George realised this, it was too late. Not many people can win an argument with a 200-pound bundle of furry fun.
Of course, Beethoven earned his keep. He saved the youngest kid from drowning, among other things. Other things included adding his signature paw prints all over the place. And becoming a one-dog rainmaker whenever he shook himself after being doused with water. Not exactly the kind of thing to do to win friends and influence people.
However, George was won over at the end of the movie when faced with the villain of the movie, in the form of Herman Varnick, a vet with a very simplistic method of ballistic experimentation. Something as simple as trying out new kinds of bullets by firing them at the heads of dogs. Saint Bernards, having big heads , are very much in demand.
Did Beethoven go out with a bang, so to say? Watch the Beethoven DVD to find out. And wear a big raincoat. For those doggy rainmaking scenes.
