The Road Dog

Well, Doug Stanhope is without doubt a stand up comic of absolutely unparalleled ... what?..... well he's the best stand up comedian bar none of the last 2 or 3 decades. Hes mostly terrible in this though. Occasionally, against all the odds, he's really good . It's not his fault, because the direction is appalling as is absolutely everything else. Stanhope is very very good in that episode of Louis C K's 'Louis' for example but The Road Dog is a disaster. I hope they paid him well and I love the irony in which he must surely have swam before taking on this gig - supremely cynical as always - he deserves good pay. But whatever you do don't watch this film. It wallows about in lazy American therapyland cliche and sentimentality and most of the acting is dire. Unless, of course you already know, like me that Stanhope is a true great and will just buy the film anyway. But for feks sake don't watch it.

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 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.

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!

There's a real warmth to this movie set in the winter of discontent. Stanhope is Jimmy Quinn (read Ben Sanderson) with better jokes which should automatically qualify him for an Oscar nomination. Honestly, I went in to the movie thinking; I wonder if he'll channel Nicolas Cage. He does. At least a little bit. He goes through all the emotions in this movie. Four of them alone in 30 seconds. Most of the time he goes to his happy a lot. Because all the other emotions suck. The happy is booze. At least until the end. Which brings us to David Maranto. Played by Des Mulrooney. Good performance. First acting role. Believable as Jimmy's son. Good acting and hit the mark on the jokes especially with the love scene. So Khrystyne Haje has been a junior high-school crush of mine since the TV show Head of the Class. She is phenomenal. Never missed a beat. Great performance. Still gorgeous and that not just my opinion but also according to the Prince of Monaco. Every character plays an important role. Tim Kazurinsky, Greg Fitzsimmons, Emma Darcy who plays Heather, the Hotel receptionist; they all delivered convincingly. Killer Termites will love the modified "Ants" joke from Stanhope's Die Laughing CD. There are other old jokes Stanhope says which brought a smile to my face. To be fair there was some things that was a head scratcher. The David/Mom scene came off odd. The steal from the church had no resolution. I got the joke but to do a closer of maybe leaving a pawn shop with Jimmy saying "Looks like the Lord is worth $50 bucks" would've been subtle yet a good payoff. I know everyone's a critic. Regardless the movie works. The story is good. Lives are solved. Motivations are solved. Goals are met, save one. This is good movie. Definitely worth the watch.