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"Oh... It's A Dog
Alright!" |
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Directed by Todd Holland
- Written by Claire-Dee
Lim, Mike Werb, M.
Colleary
Starring Josh
Hutcherson, Bree Turner,
Bruce Greenwood, Dash
Mihok
Distributed by 20th
Century Fox - 2007 -
111m - Rated PG |
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Richard Propes'
Review
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C |
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What a difference a month can make. |
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One month ago, I found
myself raving about the performances of Josh Hutcherson and
AnnaSophia Robb in the remarkably beautiful, tender and entertaining
"Bridge to Terabithia."
Now, we fast forward to this weekend's box-office opening of films
featuring both young performers yet again, "The Reaping," with
Hilary Swank and Robb, and "Firehouse Dog," starring Hutcherson in a
remarkably bland, mundane family film centered on man's best friend.
In the right vehicles, both Robb and Hutcherson are capable of
outstanding work. In the wrong material, such as their films opening
this weekend, they both downright suck.
Fortunately, it is Jacob's job to rip apart "The Reaping," leaving
me to the stronger of the two films, a remarkably average film about
a celebrity dog who ends up in the family of a fire captain and his
son.
"Firehouse Dog" exists in a rather mystical world where animals are
so lifelike they are movie stars and one of the kings among them is
Rexxx, star of the "Fast and the Furriest" and "Jurassic Bark."
I'm not kidding.
When one of Rexx's stunts goes awry, he winds up falling out of a
plane and into the yard of the aforementioned fire captain (Bruce
Greenwood) and his son (Hutcherson).
"Firehouse Dog," as directed by Todd Holland ("The Wizard"), doesn't
really offer anything new. Yet, it also never becomes so sappily
sentimental that you find yourself wanting to turn away from it.
What happens here is predictable...dog bonds with family, helps
grieving family, rescues people from fires and, well, the list goes
on and on with celebrity/hero dog stereotypes.
We've seen all of this before, but "Firehouse Dog" is easygoing and
sincere enough that young children, in particular, may very well
find themselves enjoying it AND young children who also love
firefighters will really enjoy it.
Canines are clearly the stars here, and the human actors seem
comfortable giving their spotlight away. Reliable supporting player
Bill Nunn offers laughs as the station's bad cook, while Mayte
Garcia shows up as the station's beauty and Teddy Sears is
predictable for the necessary rookie.
It's not that Hutcherson is particularly bad here, as opposed to
Robb's uncomfortably weak performance in "The Reaping," but he's
simply not given much to do. "Firehouse Dog" strikes me as the sort
of film I used to watch every Sunday night during the "Wonderful
World of Walt Disney." While I long for the days of simpler films
and less techno gadgetry, I also long for the days when storylines
mattered, characters were at least moderately developed and there
was at least a semblance of effort to create an original film.
In addition to the film's overall mediocrity, it somehow runs a bit
too long and contains at least a couple scenes that may be a bit too
intense for its obviously intended audience of small children.
While the film doesn't necessarily succeed in all its goals, it does
manage to continue a modest trend this year of producing films with
a bit of a retro feel to them that are simple, feel-good,
life-affirming films with positive messages and family-friendly
themes. While there are definitely special effects in "Firehouse
Dog," the special effects are weaved into the storyline rather than
becoming the storyline. That is mightily refreshing.
Furthermore, Hutcherson and Greenwood have a nice father/son
chemistry that may ultimately make this film a nice day out for
fathers and their young sons. The mandatory love interest for the
father (Claudette Mink) performs admirably, as well.
Oddly enough, it is the lead dog that is the film's weakest link
with a noted lack of personality or, at the very least, a
personality consistent with the emotional demands of the script. The
film, which could easily be considered a canine "Doc Hollywood,"
never really distinguishes itself enough to attract a major audience
during its theatrical run, however, it's reasonable to expect a long
shelf life in the video store for "Firehouse Dog."
With a predictable storyline, laid back pace, feel-good performances
and simple, straightforward production design, "Firehouse Dog" never
really exhibits anything approaching cinematic fire, "Firehouse Dog"
does have enough of a spark to be appealing to those who've
particularly enjoyed other animal-themed films such as the "Air
Buddies" series, "Lassie" and a host of others. |
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© Written by Richard Propes -
Email Me! |
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How We Rated This Film
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TC Candler -
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| Richard Propes
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C |
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Jacob Hall
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TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Jacob Hall's
Comment
n/a
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