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Dog
(MGM/United Artists Releasing)
By Lucas Allen
In the history of Hollywood, audiences have fallen in love with heroic dogs like Rin Tin Tin, Lassie and Toto from “The Wizard of Oz.” Recently, Dug from “Up” and Buck from “Call of the Wild” have joined the exclusive club, especially when they’re computer generated. This year, a new dog takes center stage in the aptly titled “Dog,” which gives a heartwarming and humorous approach to service dogs and the humans who raised them. The movie marks the directorial debut of star Channing Tatum and writer Reid Carolin, who created the Magic Mike franchise.
Jackson Briggs (Tatum) is an Army sergeant recently discharged for severe brain trauma, but is willing to re-enlist. Repeated rejections haven’t helped his mental state, causing him personal problems. But then he gets a chance after a fellow soldier is killed and Briggs is assigned to transport the soldier’s service dog to the funeral. The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Lulu (played by three dogs) suffers from PTSD and is severely hostile towards the other Army men. This proves very challenging when Briggs had to drive Lulu through the West Coast in his beat-up 1984 Ford Bronco.
During their three-day drive, Briggs and Lulu are impossibly at odds with each other, with the dog vicious with anyone and anything. But after Lulu is captured by a man (Kevin Nash), his wife, a psychic (Jane Adams), reveals that Lulu has anxiety issues and needs real comfort. Soon enough, Briggs starts to understand the dog, eventually leading to a special bond as the two have to hurry to make it to the funeral on time.
For anyone who loves having a pet in their lives, this movie is certainly made for them. Despite some pretty dark undertones, there’s a lot of heart and warmth to this story thanks in large part to the believable relationship between Briggs and Lulu. The story, however, doesn’t delve too much into such drama like Briggs’ personal life or his post-Army ordeal. It mainly becomes scenic decoration for the purpose of developing the man and dog friendship. Though they’re trying to keep the story lighthearted for a wide audience, the filmmakers could’ve found a better way to present the drama to make it tonally adjacent with the comedy.
Speaking of which, the humor is what the movie does a good job on with the dog stealing whole scenes under Tatum’s feet. But when it comes to filling the blanks between the humor and the heartwarming, the script tends to go in some odd directions if this film was more akin to the buddy comedies of the 1990s. For example, there’s a very questionable sequence where Briggs impersonates a blind person to get a free room at a luxury hotel with Lulu. That’s not to say all of the comedy parts are bad when the light-hearted material outweighs any small gripes. For what it is, the movie becomes a nicely tuned car ride for more than 90 minutes.
In spite of his limited acting range, Tatum manages to carry his role with the right amount of physical comedy and rugged good looks. He and Lulu also bring plenty of heart and laughs into their scenes with some of the best dog acting in decades. Ethan Suplee also appears as another ex-Army officer in a few scenes, but does quite a good job with little material to work with. Suplee’s presence helps to lift the film, especially the only piece of real drama when he and Briggs have to search through town looking for stolen goods.
For a fun matinee afternoon, Dog is definitely the right choice for both parents and their kids. While it doesn’t reach the dramatic depths it could’ve done, it’s still a hilarious and heartwarming comedy especially in its bumpy road to its resolution. Dog lovers everywhere will find plenty to enjoy in this road trip film.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for language, thematic elements, drug content, and some suggestive material)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
