The Shaggy Dog is a Walt Disney Pictures release.
Wide theatrical release: March 10.
Directed by Brian Robbins.
Screenplay by Cormac Wibberley, Marrianne Wibberly, Geoff Rodkey, Jack Amiel,
Michael Begler.
Starring: Tim Allen, Kristin Davis, Zena Grey, Spencer Breslin
Running time: 98 minutes.
Rated PG for some mild rude humor.
Lisa’s Rating: 5 out of 10.
You know it’s been a sad trip to the movies when you leave the theatre asking
yourself “whose fault was that?” The Shaggy Dog had me muttering the
question all the way home.
I never automatically blame a film’s problems on the fact that it’s a remake.
Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis happens to be
one of my favorite Disney live action films, as is the remake of The Parent
Trap (also with La Lohan.) This new version is very loosely based on the
1959 and 1976 versions of the Shaggy Dog franchise.
Deputy D.A. Dave Douglas (Tim Allen) takes on a case involving a powerful
and corrupt drug company. The workaholic Douglas never has time for his wife
(Kristen Davis) or his kids (Spencer Breslin and Zena Grey) and is generally
a cold heartless lawyer-type. When Douglas is bit by a sheepdog escaped from
the drug lab, he becomes infected with genetically mutated serum and the fun
begins. Whenever Douglas’ heart rate rises, he turns into a dog, and the rest
of the time he merely acts like one. Will Douglas discover a cure for his
doggy proclivities and save his marriage? Will the evil, animal-testing drug
lab get its just desserts? Will parents be able stand watching the entire
film to find out?
I don’t think that I can blame the film’s problems on Tim Allen. Allen is
at his best with physical comedy, and he works hard at being a man being a
dog. Most of the laughs in the theatre came from Allen acting like a dog,
not from the actual dog with the Allen voiceover, which were painfully unfunny.
The other supporting actors – and there are a galaxy of stars with small
roles – do their best to elicit laughs, though they aren’t given much
to work with. Robert Downey, Jr. has good potential as a Disney villain; scary,
but not too scary.
I think the blame can rest comfortably on the storyline. The storyline is
over the heads of most young children, who should be the target audience.
Heavy topics like animal research, district attorneys, arson and genetic mutation
are introduced within the first few minutes. The whole first section of the
movie deals with Douglas’ family and work problem, with nary a dog in sight
– which made a lot of the younger kids in the audience restless. Once
the story went to the dogs (you knew I had to use that phrase at least once
in this review), the adults in the audience were left checking their watches.
The film never made it to the happy state of playing to both the parents and
children that other successful family movies have.
Then there’s the question of chemistry. Film family chemistry is something
you can’t quite put your finger on, but successful family movies have it in
spades. In The Parent Trap, you really care what happens to the girls;
I always get a lump in my throat when I see them reunited with the parent
they’ve never met. I’m still convinced that the Banks family in Mary Poppins
is a real family. Even in the more recent Sky High I felt that the
Commander and Jet Stream really loved their son; the dynamics were not only
humorous but heartwarming. I didn’t feel a lot of love or connection in the
Douglas family; therefore I didn’t really care how the film was resolved.
To be fair, I am a lot more critical of The Shaggy Dog than my children
were. My nine-year-old chortled during all of Allen’s doggy scenes, and caught
the obvious Toy Story reference at the end of the movie by letting
out a cheer. She confided that “the beginning of the story was boring, but
I liked it when he turned into a dog.” My older daughter said it was “pretty
good,” which is high praise for an eleven-year-old. I was pretty much alone
in my dislike of The Shaggy Dog. I guess my hopes were up too high;
it’s harder than it looks to make a film that appeals to adults as much as
to children.
*A note about the PG rating*
The film is rated PG for some rude humor (mostly centering around the particular
area on human anatomy where dogs enjoy sniffing) and a few tense moments with
a hypodermic needle – no injections were directly shown.
