Wiener-Dog

It's really a good movie. I can't stop watching it twice at a time. You can find both you,your family,your friends,your neighbor, all of us,in it. It's actually 4 dogs in 4 different stories,which I thought to be 1 dog the first time I watched it. Maybe the only thing characters sharing in common is that they all raise a wiener dog. Its name is wiener-dog, but has not so much to do with it, dog is not main character. People all have their problems, towards living and death.In this movie it shows to us.Maybe you have parents less responsibility; maybe you are losing hope to life,and miss nothing in your place; maybe you're suffering from your career-used to be successful but now nothing; maybe you're facing life ends. It shows us stories in dramatic way, kind of interesting,and also sarcastic. Many scenes impressed me a lot, quite interesting. It's a movie for people who go through life or have their own life thoughts. There is no happy ending, but you won't feel too bad maybe.It's really good.

Amusing in bits n pieces but sterile for the most part, Wiener-Dog is an uninvolving, uninteresting & unappealing indie that attempts to find humour in the mundane lives of the dull characters that inhabit this feature with little success and stays on the base level throughout its runtime.

The story of Wiener-Dog follows the journey of its titular character, a dachshund that passes from one eccentric owner to another and leaves its imprints in their dysfunctional lives. The plot covers four story lines, in addition to an unexpected intermission in this 88 minutes narrative.

Written & directed by Todd Solondz, there is a quirky element present in the picture from the start and even though the movie is richly photographed & makes extensive use of bright colour palette, the content is just as empty from within as the lives of its broken characters. In short, the laughs are few & far in between.

The cast comprises of Julie Delpy, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Burstyn, Danny DeVito & others, and most of them do have their individual moments to shine. Delpy has one hell of a story to tell, Gerwig is delightful as always, DeVito's segment is the most interesting, while Burstyn outacts others in her part by simply sitting around.

On an overall scale, Wiener-Dog may work best for those who are familiar with the director's earlier works but for newcomers, there isn't really much that's stimulating enough on an emotional level. It does address its themes of mortality & existence with flair and wraps itself up with an ending that no one saw coming but as a comedy, this indie is one bland example with not much to offer.

I went into this thinking it was a sequel to Welcome to the Dollhouse; I guess it technically is but it has greater concerns than letting us know what happened to Dawn and the rest of the WttD crew so adjust your expectations accordingly.

The movie is broken up into 4 parts, each part focusing on a different owner of the titular Weiner-dog.

The first part was my favorite, about a young boy struggling to understand his dog's place in the world. It is sweet and funny and I was incredibly nervous about what would become of the dog since I did not know the movie would take on a 4 chapter structure.

The second part reunites the Welcome to the Dollhouse characters Dawn and Brandon. Greta Gerwig's performance was a little strange and there were some distracting continuity issues and cutting. In fact, the entire movie had very distracting moments of editing, usually cutting back and forth from character to character for each individual line. It's very jarring, particularly because the moments without dialogue are usually portrayed in long takes.

There is an intermission, it is fantastic.

The third part is the weakest. It focuses on Dave, a screen writing professor, who is struggling to sell a script. It drags on a bit long and ends with a punchline that doesn't really have a ton of punch.

The fourth part is a bit more surreal, and feels more similar to his recent movies. It focuses on an elderly woman whose daughter comes to visit. Then takes sort of a bizarre turn in its second half.

I walked away from the movie thinking it was great but feeling terrible.

Overall, Todd Solondz continues to be one of the most interesting filmmakers out there. I feel like he's definitely making the kind of movies he wants to be making: quiet comedies reflecting our superficial, pathetic, and delirious culture packed with incredibly uncomfortable conversations and situations; I just think his previous work is more interesting.

There is a scene in (Danny DeVito) Dave Schmerz's office which shows a movie poster for Dave Schmerz's "Apricots". The poster is clearly based on Woody Allen's "Bananas".

There were lots of little things like this in this movie, just thrown in there but not brought explicitly to your attention.

One of the reasons I appreciate Solondz.

I found this movie very enjoyable and satisfying. It is, though rather subtle about it, a comedy... though many plainly fail to see that. Frankly, I expected something more dry and dark. I ended up feeling really glad I had gone.

Many small things to notice and appreciate, and some very good acting all around. Some genuinely poignant moments sprinkled throughout. There were also a few little digs at recent films... twice a shot of the boy reclining which recalled "Boyhood", and the 'Intermission' plainly mocks "The Hateful Eight"

You probably have to 'get' Solondz, and know what to expect. DO NOT go in expecting a wacky pic about a kooky pup. But if you do get his stuff, I say this is his best since "Happiness"

what a shocker - wiener dog you would think of as an affectionate term for a dachshund, no this dog is portrayed as a novelty disposable item - used by a series of horrible people who display a total lack of empathy for the dog - and a complete lack of respect. I am so disappointed that a mainstream film with famous actors in would not help put forward the message that people and children need to hear - RESPECT DOGS. Someone else said- dogs get enough of a raw deal in life we don't want to see it on screen. i totally agree and am disgusted with the cold hearted director who didn't display a shred of empathy for the dog. A terrible terrible film.