The Road Dog

Doug Stanhope was great in an inside view of the life of traveling standup comedians in a world where youtube is hitting the comedy club circuit. Stanhope plays an old school comedian with a drinking problem but sticking to the convictions of his act while trying to connect to a son he abandoned early on. There are some Chicago connections with some comedians from my area.

Stanhope should definitely be nominated for an award for his acting performance. The actor that played his son did a very good job as well.

If you're a fan of standup comedy or not this heavy drama with some funny moments is highly recommended. Worth a view or three!

Greg Glienna's "The Road Dog" initially seems to have all the makings of a Hallmark movie: a likable curmudgeon in need of redemption, an ex-love interest with an angelic heart, an estranged son who just wants to get to know his daddy, and of course, alcoholism. However, Glienna must be applauded for the way he avoids going down familiar routes and instead lets realism reign supreme, leading towards an ending that is heartbreaking in its honesty about our fragile human condition. Some of the actors are better than others-- there's definitely an "I've worked so hard to memorize my lines" vibe from some of the background characters -- but overall there is real sincerity and nuance in the central performances, particularly Doug Stanhope in the lead role. Does it reinvent the wheel? Absolutely not. But movies are not required to do that; they must simply tell believable human stories that we can connect with even if we don't have the protagonist's unique set of quirks and experiences, and I think this movie fulfills that. Looking forward to Greg Glienna's next project!

I love Doug Stanhope but this movie was the pits. The acting is horrible. Doug is the only one who can act in this and he's just playing himself. The dialog is boring. This movie feels like it's been made dozens of times. Even the music they chose is so basic it just helps the movie drag. You can see where the movie is going and it ends exactly how you think it will. The set designs are so cheap nothing looks real. I was so disappointed in this and embarrassed to have wasted 4 bucks renting it. Nothing in the movie made me laugh and Doug has always made me howl in laughter. This entire movie was just boring and it's not worth your time.

I'm a Stanhope fanatic; I've got the specials, bootlegs, audiobooks etc. That being said, this movie is not good. It's competently shot and edited which keeps it from being a bad movie like most amateur trash; but beyond that there's not a lot to see here. Another review put it perfectly, 'it feels like a hallmark movie without the cheesy cliches', but at least hallmark movies have decent acting most of the time. Which leads me to the next issue, the acting in this isn't even terrible enough to make fun of, it's just phoned in and uninteresting. I can't recall a single line of dialogue from Stanhope or any other character that felt the slightest bit genuine. I expect as much from Stanhope because he's not an actor, he's a comedian; but if everyone else is an actor by trade, they need take a few more classes. Doug has a bit on one of his specials where he talks about hating doing old material because he has to remember the setup and build up the fake anger and frustration to sell the punchline; some of which he uses in the film. But there was no anger or frustration here; only visible awkwardness and flat delivery in the shape of a Stanhope joke. The only funny thing about this movie was the cheesy piano music that played during 'emotional' scenes when it's void of a soundtrack otherwise.

I'll continue to support Stanhope in his other endeavors, but I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that this was a must see for anyone that knows who Doug is.

I rented "The Road Dog" on Apple TV+. I loved this superb film! The story is compelling. Lead actor Doug Stanhope is marvelous. He fully inhabits the role. He is onscreen for virtually the entire film. The supporting cast is wonderful. Director Greg Glienna also co-wrote the screenplay, as well as writing and singing his original song over the closing credits. The screenplay, direction, acting, production design, cinematography, and music are all excellent. It's impressive how real and true-to-life this film is. The very last few scenes are not what I was expecting, but they enhanced the realness of the film. I highly recommend this very fine film.