Dog - Not As Predictable As You Might Think

 

For rent on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube 

    More often than not, elements like narrative formulas and reused plots become easily noticeable over time. Once you've seen one movie about a hardened man who loosens up and becomes better through an unexpected friendship with an animal (typically a dog), you can usually count the minutes to every plot beat with military precision with every subsequent movie from then on. 

    Even so, as I mentioned in one of my more recent blog entries, originality does not stem from the story itself but in how you tell it. Dog may not have the most original story, but it's told with a decent amount of maturity, and just the right amount of charm, that it succeeds in surpassing expectations (most of them, anyway). 

    The story follows a former Army Ranger named Jackson Briggs (Channing Tatum, who also co-directed the film). After receiving a medical discharge from combat-related injuries, he is eager to return to active duty. Pleading with his former captain, he is tasked with an unusual assignment. One of his former unit buddies (their K9 handler) recently passed away, and the family has requested his dog friend, Lulu, be present for the funeral. Briggs has one week to drive Lulu to their mutual friend's funeral in exchange for possible redeployment. Along the way, they will both learn a few important things about themselves and, in doing so, discover an unusual bond they don't yet realize. 

    What sells the movie is the believable and entertaining chemistry between Briggs and Lulu. They are both broken characters who find the answers they are looking for from their time together. The chemistry between the characters felt believable and genuine enough to add charm to the story, often challenging to achieve. At times, I was reminded of some of my other favorite dog-related films, like Turner & Hooch or Love and Monsters. 

    Probably the only real nitpick I have with the film is the title. While there is a narrative justification for it, I can't help but feel like it's too generic and straightforward for the movie's own good. Dog, as a title, is too open-ended and lacks any kind of intrigue, as opposed to something like Lulu, the dog's name in the movie. That already provides a better sense of individual identity to the film. It is a minor thing, I admit, but the title of your story carries a more significant impact than you might suspect. 

    Dog is a classic story of learning to live with PTSD, loss and finding connections in the unlikeliest places. While it may not be groundbreaking or profound, it is a well-crafted feel-good story that is precisely what we need at the moment. Remarkably few things can't be enhanced somehow with the presence of an adorable and likable animal. Reid Carolin and Channing Tatum should be proud of their successful and promising directorial debut. 

    I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next for them. 

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.