Sun Dogs

One of those movies that makes you smile. Give it a go.

I have always admired Jennifer Morrison as an actress. I liked her a lot in namely House and Once Upon a Time. To be honest, I doubted her as a director. This is her feature debut, and for a debut i gonna say, incredible work.

The directing here is incredible for an indie film and directorial debut. The writing though, not so much.

Sun Dogs tells the story of Ned Chipley, a man full of heroism and patriotism. He really hates terrorists, as he always repeats, and wants to be a marine to serve the United States.

We're also introduced to a girl named Tally. Her and Ned embarks a journey to catch a terrorist named Osama Bin Laden.

The film was pretty good at introducing characters. Ned, Tally and Sergeant Kendrick, they all got well introductions. But when the film starts focusing on only Ned and Tally, it becomes draggy.

Unfortunately, Sun Dogs fails to make the story of Ned and Tally to become interesting enough. It does pick up near the end, but the end scenes just felt rather irrelevant to the movie.

Apparently the writer of Sun Dogs has no history at all. Sun Dogs is the only credit of her according to IMDB. If this is the first thing she's ever written, then it's not that bad of a script.

Sun Dogs is saved by the great direction of Jennifer Morrison and the passable performances of Ned and Tally. Once you remember this is only an indie film, it becomes better.

'SUN DOGS': Four Stars (Out of Five)

An indie comedy-drama about a young man that's obsessed with becoming a military hero, who thinks that he finds a new way to save lives, with the help of a young woman that he meets. The film was directed by actress turned first time director Jennifer Morrison, and it was scripted by Anthony Tambakis and Raoul McFarland (a first time screenwriter). It stars Michael Angarano, Melissa Benoist, Allison Janney, Ed O'Neill and Xzibit. The movie was featured at multiple prestigious film festivals, before being released by Netflix through it's streaming site. I found it to be pretty moving and effective.

Ned Chipley (Angarano) is obsessed with joining the military and becoming a hero. He's mentally unstable though, and this disqualifies him from entering the service (unbeknownst to him). The enlisting officer, Master Sgt. Jenkins (Xzibit), doesn't have the heart to tell him this, so he instead asks Ned to watch out for terrorists in the civilian world (as a secret operative). Ned of course takes this assignment very seriously, and he finds help from a young woman he meets named Tally (Benoist).

The movie is ultimately very sweet and inspiring, after a pretty rough and depressing opening third act though. I think it tackles mental illness with a pretty respectful and heartfelt approach, and Angarano is perfect in the lead. What's most impressive about the film though, I think, is Morrison's beautiful direction (it's so well done for a first time director). I really look forward to seeing what she does next.

Sun Dogs is a quirky Indie film that whilst is above average in terms of acting, direction and production standards, it just isn't very interesting. The story focuses on Ned who since the events of 9/11 has become obsessed with wanting to help In the war on terror. He wants to and tries to join the marines. Ned is mentally challenged which causes him unusual and immature behavior. He is delusional. I suppose this is the heart and soul of the movie. Watching it unfold I hovered between pity for him vs. his immaturity creating amusement. This makes for an awkward watch where to get the most out of the drama you need to admire his drive and persistence despite his disadvantage. I found the whole thing to be preposterous. Worst of all I don't think I could drop in a spoiler on this one as there's nothing to spoil. The story is weak and the movie ends fairly abruptly without a satisfying ending. I was drawn into viewing it by the five positive imdb reviews at the time. Unfortunately I see retrospectively that 2 of those reviewers have only ever written 1 review each which I find suspicious. My rating 4/10 Not recommended. Time is precious and there's far better movies to watch out there.

This movie is funny, sweet, sad, happy, and uniquely pleasing, as life can be at its best.

Two thirds of the way through the film I found myself hoping the movie would have a happy ending, not just for Ned, but for Tally. They were just two people the world had passed by and forgotten; the deserved it.

It's nice to root for nice people. It's nice to see nice people get nice things in life.

You don't need a full deck to have a good hand or to lend a hand -- anyone can save lives.

It's a nice movie, well worth the time.