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Year of the Dog Misses the MarkFilm Has Good Intentions But Bites the Hand That Feeds It.
Screenwriter and director Mike White examines one woman's attempts to cope with the loss of a beloved pet, but Molly Shannon takes her character in an unusual direction.
Screenwriter Mike White typically writes sharp, edgy dialogue and creates clearly-defined characters in his scripts, but he really misses the mark in “Year of the Dog,” a bittersweet new film about every pet owner’s worst nightmare. Molly Shannon plays Peggy, an administrative assistant who works for a wishy-washy boss (Josh Pais). At the end of the day, Peggy looks forward to going home and spending time with Pencil, the sweet little beagle that she has built her life around. Pencil gives her unconditional love and, as such, she really doesn’t seek any other relationships in her life. Things change, though, after Pencil disappears one night after going outside to relieve himself. The next morning, a frantic Peggy finds her beloved dog lying ill on a neighbor’s sidewalk. She rushes him to the local veterinary hospital, but Pencil dies on the operating table. Because she’s extremely distraught over the loss of her pet, Peggy’s friends and co-workers encourage her to go out and have some fun, especially after her sympathetic next-door neighbor (John C. Reilly) asks her out to dinner. That date doesn’t go quite as planned, though, and she returns to an empty house and an even emptier life. Peggy thinks, however, that she’s finally made a love connection with Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), an employee at the animal hospital who rescues dogs from the pound. He asks Peggy if she wouldn’t mind caring for Valentine, an emotionally troubled German Shepard with a tendency to bite people. To win Newt’s affections, Peggy changes her entire lifestyle to match his own. She gives up meat and dairy products to embrace the vegan lifestyle and pesters her friends and co-workers to adopt abandoned dogs. Her love for animals quickly becomes an obsession, affecting her work and her relationships with her family. Slow-paced and highly emotional, “Year of the Dog” has the best of intentions, but it really doesn’t achieve its goals. Mike White, who also directed this film, seems unsure about what he’s really trying to say with this story. As Peggy, former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Molly Shannon plays it straight with mixed results. It’s easy for pet lovers to identify with Peggy’s loss, but her devotion to animals becomes so radical and so extreme that audiences might have trouble sympathizing with her. When all is said and done, “Year of the Dog” is really like a cute little puppy that bites you at unexpected moments. "Year of the Dog" is rated PG-13 for some suggestive references.
The copyright of the article Year of the Dog Misses the Mark in Film Dramas is owned by Steven C Bryan. Permission to republish Year of the Dog Misses the Mark in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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