Snow Dogs

This film has virtually NOTHING to do with Gary Paulsen's gritty book "Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod" though he is credited with "suggesting" the idea for the movie. Essentially it's an amusing "fish-out-of-water" tale about a Miami dentist (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who inherits an Alaskan dogsled team, complicated by the fact he really doesn't like dogs. The filmmakers have relied heavily on the sunny persona of Gooding and a great deal of physical comedy for audience appeal. There are also solid support from grizzled screen veteran James Coburn and the ever-elegant Nichelle Nichols of "Star Trek" fame. I enjoyed the movie & so did most of the kids I saw in the theater. Don't know what that says about my taste in movies...

One caveat: if you are severely allergic to pseudo-singer Michael Bolton, you might break out in a "Time, Love and Tenderness" rash!