Movie Review: Who Gets the Dog? (2016)

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An underwritten screwball comedy of remarriage crossed with an overlong contemporary sitcom – much like the titular people-pleasing pet at the heart of its plotline – director Huck Botko's Dog runs itself ragged in the hopes of being everything to everyone during its ninety-five minute running time.

While largely and refreshingly devoid of the kind of lowbrow, gross-out humor that we typically find in both children-centric pet movies and modern day romantic comedies, neither Botko nor his two screenwriters (Matt JL Wheeler and Rick Rapoza) were able to deliver a completely successful family friendly endeavor that could play equally well to both pup-loving kiddos and adults.

Gifted with a title that actually references its plot (for a change!), Who Gets the Dog? stars Ryan Kwanten alongside Gen X icon and executive producer Alicia Silverstone as a divorcing couple fighting over the custody of their dog, Wesley.

Bolstered by the charm and believable chemistry of its leads, the film is as affable as it is awkward. Typically in the Rom-Com genre, the hero’s “sidekick” plays a minor role. However, in Dog’s case, Kwanten’s best friend Rhett (Matty Ryan) has been given the picture's best plotline as a multitasking youth hockey coach who spends his time looking after his nephew while also helping minor league goalie Kwanten train for a shot at joining the Chicago Wolves.

And even though Kwanten’s Peter Pannish man-child bonds with Rhett’s adorable nephew, needless to say, the film would’ve been much stronger if Kwanten would’ve been the hockey coach/uncle and aspiring Wolves goalie as it would’ve given him much more to do than simply – literally and figuratively – chase after the eponymous dog.

Also overwhelming the leads, Randall Batinkoff steals scenes in an inspired turn as an overly masculine canine whisperer hoping to ply his trade with the goal of romance.

Although Kwanten delights in some inventive slapstick sequences while diving headfirst into his Shaggy-like role including a marvelously staged one at his character’s camper, other times it borders on scenery-chewing – making us painfully aware that this Dog is in desperate need of a tighter directorial leash as well as a more substantive script.

Likewise, by not giving verbally gifted Shakespeare and Austen (by way of Heckerling’s Clueless) vet Silverstone enough to do besides react to the chaos, the film drags as events come to a predictable head. And contrasted with some of the inventive flourishes that made the audience laugh earlier on, the forgettable finale feels like a a missed opportunity.

Gently roasting the dog-owner world in the hopes of strengthening its by-the-numbers storyline, although the end result is too inconsistent to keep us truly invested, there’s still plenty to like about this admittedly flawed yet undeniably pleasant PG-rated direct-to-disc confection. Aimed at humans and pets of all ages and released in time for holiday family viewing (and gift-giving), Who Gets the Dog? is sure to fetch an audience.

Text ©2016, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

DVD Review: My Dog the Champion (2013)

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Original Title: Champion


On par with a Flicka sequel, this well-intentioned family B-movie replaces horses with canines and combines the pet-centric plotline with a gentler tween variation of a Taming of the Shrew style coming-of-age in this sweet if slight tale of a spoiled city girl who matures with the help of a new four-legged best friend during a summer spent in the country.

Helmed by a husband and wife team who’ve worked within the genre before, although the film suffers from its predictable by-the-numbers paradigm, its greatest weakness isn’t in the formula but in actress Dora Madison Burge’s borderline obnoxious heroine who whines like a self-satisfied Kardashian groupie hopped up on too much Red Bull.

An acronym spouting, eye-rolling drama queen who complains about having to stay with her estranged grandfather rancher after her mom his deployed to Afghanistan and her grandmother journeys to Russia for missionary work, it seems ludicrous that her two upstanding role-model matriarchs could’ve raised such an absolute brat.

And while predictably she experiences a much needed attitude change midway through the picture, it takes place both suddenly and offscreen, making the plight of Burge’s Madison and the film itself suffer from its abrupt and uneven execution once her mannerisms, behavior and personality suddenly downshift twenty notches and she becomes a completely new character.

The new and improved Madison is a welcome change but because it happens so unnaturally, it gives off the obviously erroneous (not to mention nonsensical) impression that the husband and wife team of Kevin and Robin Nation had taken turns directing the material and weren’t privy to any of the other footage that had been shot when they weren’t at the helm.

With a main character arc that’s weak at best, we’re left staying tuned for the affable supporting cast including Aliens star Lance Henriksen as Madison’s hard-working grandpa who’s struggling to make ends meet on the ranch and Cody Linley as Madison’s cute, obligatory dog-trainer love interest who helps inspire the girl to put down her electronics in order to have a real live conversation that isn’t based on instant messaging or text.

Forming an unexpected bond with a dejected cattle dog who misses her recently deceased sidekick just as much as Madison misses her soldier mother, soon Madison finds a new calling as a budding trainer, working alongside Linley’s character to enter a youth competition with a prize purse that just might help her grandpa keep the bankers at bay and save the ranch.

Obviously, the title gives away the ending, which suffice to say, might have only stunned very young children who have yet to be exposed to the vastly superior, similarly themed Flicka franchise of films, there’s nonetheless a sweet surprise in the final act that helps explain and augment the bond that Madison has with the dog that helps strengthen the film even more.

Needless to say, the last half of the picture is far greater than the first and you wish that more time would’ve been spent perfecting the script and especially reconfiguring the characterization and arc of Burge’s scenery-chewing, nerve-grating heroine.

And although it probably would’ve been better overall had it revolved around Linley’s stronger and far more intriguing dog trainer, which is a sad acknowledgement for a female co-directed film, My Dog the Champion is nonetheless a workmanlike yet warm-hearted, wholesome and well-intentioned effort that’s still bound to appeal to kids aged six through twelve.

 

   
Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Blu-ray Review: Space Buddies (2009)

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On 2/3/09

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Unfortunately, it seems as though we'll never fully recapture the same intense fascination with our Space Race that held global citizens captive with anticipation in the 1960s as-- over the last few decades--coverage of NASA has focused predominantly on either astronomical budgets instead of astronauts and disasters instead of dazzling achievements.

Yet, despite this, Hollywood has refused to follow suit-- for better or worse. Launching a series of movies aimed at children to amaze and astound such as the lackluster 3D adventure Fly Me to the Moon which sadly used insects in space as the big draw and the only slightly more entertaining Space Chimps which inexplicably abandoned its clever premise midway through for cheesy science fiction fodder-- it was only a matter of time before Walt Disney Home Entertainment decided to get in on the action themselves.

Following last year's brilliant Oscar nominee WALL-E which seemed to blend the films of Charlie Chaplin with the character of Ernest Borgnine in Marty for its ultimately cautionary tale of a futuristic dystopia caused by wasteful consumerism, Disney left the highbrow aims of their superior Pixar offering behind to move their ultra successful Buddies franchise into the cosmic landscape.

Succeeding Air Bud and that film's many sequels which found its athletic Golden Retriever excelling at any given sport, Disney followed the example of the era of The Muppets followed by its adorable Muppet Babies by serving up a whole new, baby breed of puppies-- Bud's offspring-- the Buddies.

In past adventures the talking Buddies have conquered both Air and Snow and in this one, the group of loyally precocious Golden Retreiver puppies including the Zen-like Buddha, ultimate girly-girl Rosebud, the hip-hop playa puppy B-Dawg, incessantly messy Mudbud, and the over-eater prone to flatulence Budderball-- find themselves sent into orbit after following their beloved children on a field trip and in a series of misadventures end up making their way towards a lunar landing.

Decidedly aimed towards the youngest Disney fans with its overly simplistic plot and slightly strange animation of making the dogs' mouths move as they speak (to eerie effect)-- while it has fun using true events and famous NASA quotes as fodder in their "one small step..." and "no pup left behind" quest and it's much more enjoyable than both Fly Me to the Moon and Space Chimps-- ultimately, it's a forgettable straight-to-disc adventure in which the new supporting players, instead of the Buddies, keep us compelled throughout.



Featuring the adorable addition of a Russian homesick Minitature Bull Terrier "dogmonaut" Spudnick who has been lampooned in space along with the astronaut Yuri (Diedrich Bader) whose solitude has resulted in the Americans analysis that they're "not sure he's flying with a full jet pack," Spudnick aids the young Buddies as they go about walking on the moon and external repair in space to return them safely home, thanks both to his experience as well as their supporter in mission control-- a quick-witted ferret named Gravity voiced by Amy Sedaris.

Although chances are parents and children over the age of ten will be easily bored and should either turn to Disney's WALL-E or Tuesday's other animal-centered animated release of the 20th Anniversary of Oliver and Company, no doubt older viewers will enjoy the riffs on space history and the many films that came before it, especially in its overt homage to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Equipped with Disney's popular BD-Live Network feature (available currently in the United States only) which offers internet connected BD-Live compatible players the chance for fans to take part in movie chat, movie mail, challenges, and check the status of their Disney Movie Rewards Live balance-- the clarity of the Blu-ray (which consists almost fully of special effects constructed via a green screen) is extremely sharp, filling widescreen enhanced televisions with superior 1080p High Definition (1.78:1 aspect) picture and 5.1 DTS-HD or Dolby Digital 2.0 sound.



Also offering English subtitles for the deaf and/or hearing impaired, the Blu-ray's imaginative menus and features contain all of the extras available on the DVD including bloopers, optional pop-up facts that play throughout, and Disney Channel star Alyson Stoner's rendition of "Dancing in the Moonlight" in a specially made music video. However, exclusive to the Blu-ray there's also a great scavenger hunt feature allowing young viewers the chance to view the film virtually along with their favorite Buddy while locating one hundred selected items included in the film.

Additionally, in a great joint opportunity that's sure to be a must for Disney devotees in time for Valentine's Day, those purchasing Space Buddies on either DVD or Blu-ray along with Oliver and Company on DVD are able to get two collectible plush buddies free (examples pictured below)-- plus shipping and processing-- before the offer expires on 4/30/09 or while supplies last.