Dog Park - Bei Fuß, Liebling!

Jeez, I think I saw a different movie. Let's see.....nope, it WAS "Dog Park."

Apparently we have a whole class of film students here who were given the assignment, "Pan a Film and Get Your Review Published" and IMDb was the only place that would put them in print.

Dog Park is fine. It's nice. It's even intriguing. Its humor is low key, except where it's laugh-out-loud, which was in several places when I saw it (25 yr. old black woman and 50 yr. old white guy, 15 rows apart, the only 2 in the theater; we laughed at different parts, but we laughed).

Luke Wilson is terrific, a curious blend of David Duchoveny and Bill Pullman. I'll go to his next movie. Natasha Henstridge can actually act! Brava!

OK, so it's not an Oscar contender. I go into a theater to enjoy a movie, not to trash it, and I enjoyed this one just fine.

I wanted to like this movie. It was an interesting concept of people meeting at a dog park as they struggled to establish relationships. There was good comedic actors and cute pooches. But since it was supposed to be a romantic comedy, I didn't see much comedy and even less romance. All the characters were struggling and not having much enjoyment in their relationships. The actors Luke Wilson and Janeane Garofalo did their job OK but were working with weak material. None of it jelled and some of the characters such as the dog trainer sounded retarded. The dialog was wimpy and desperate at times. Sad. Lame. Lame. Lame.

This is quite an odd film, but pleasant throughout due to the likeable actors and some laugh out loud moments. There are musings throughout about dating and love, none of which really hit the mark. The ending was somewhat unsatisfying, and loose ends weren't really tied up. In addition, Bruce McCullough, from Kids in the Hall, who directed and wrote the film, somewhat underutilized himself in the movie. He could have added some more hilarious moments for himself, but his Kids In the Hall partner Mark McKinney gets most of the laughs as a dog psychiatrist. I appreciated that it seemed to be trying something new in the field of romantic comedy, and was less predictable than many similar films. Overall, I did enjoy it and would say it is worth a rental, but I can't really justify giving it more than 6/10.

Andy (Luke Wilson) has just been dumped by his girlfriend. To add insult to injury, she took the dog as well. Andy, not used to being on his own, meets Lorna (Natasha Henstridge) in a bar and a few sparks fly. Yet, Lorna, who has recently lost her boyfriend as well, is not interested in starting anything new and rejects Andy's advances. Jeri (Janeane Garofalo), as Andy's close co-worker, arranges for him to participate in a bachelor auction. Unfortunately, Kieran, loose and crazy, bids for him and promptly moves in with him. Complicated? You bet! Oh, and everyone walks their dogs in the dog park and takes their canine friends to obedience school with the same dog psychologist. Will the doggies get their diplomas even as their mixed-up owners try to straighten out their lives?

This is, by no means, a successful romantic comedy. Instead, it falls into the category of an interesting also-ran. The main characters are appealing (Janeane Garofolo looks wonderful) but the plot's haphazard storyline is always throwing in more loose ends without connecting them in a logical fashion. The humor is not laugh-out-loud but rather mild and quirky. Fans of romantic comedies will probably stick this one out and enjoy it. Luke Wilson's ever-growing fan club will want to see it, also. All others will be less enchanted and find it a off-beat diversion with no memorable qualities.

DOG PARK is a great concept with a decent cast and only fair execution. The characters are not likeable, not even the dogs. And the story is flat. It drags and skips and squirts. It's about as much dog dropping as it is fun. A few light moments, but mostly a yawn. Wait for the video.