The Dogwalker
Outrider Pictures
Not to be confused with a more recent film with the same name that was screened at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival, "The Dogwalker" deserves to have the "dog" part all for itself.
Originally shot in 1999 (it kicked around the festival circuit for a couple of years), this self-satisfied, streets-of-L.A. comedy about a glib slacker (Will Stewart) who gets a gig walking an old woman's mutt while her daughter (Stepfanie Kramer) and granddaughter (Nicki Aycox) slobber all over him in the process is rooted in the point-and-shoot school of improvisational filmmaking.
While the approach may have been liberating for writer-director Paul Duran and his cast, it's mighty tedious for the viewer who has to contend with unpleasant characters, hit-and-miss performances and awkwardly staged scenes.
Although it's nice to see old pros like John Randolph, Carol Gustafson and Allan Rich being offered some well-deserved work, it would have been nicer if Duran had bothered to actually write and direct something -- not to mention pick one tone and stick with it -- rather than to apparently wait for inspiration to strike while the camera was rolling. And rolling.
Not to be confused with a more recent film with the same name that was screened at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival, "The Dogwalker" deserves to have the "dog" part all for itself.
Originally shot in 1999 (it kicked around the festival circuit for a couple of years), this self-satisfied, streets-of-L.A. comedy about a glib slacker (Will Stewart) who gets a gig walking an old woman's mutt while her daughter (Stepfanie Kramer) and granddaughter (Nicki Aycox) slobber all over him in the process is rooted in the point-and-shoot school of improvisational filmmaking.
While the approach may have been liberating for writer-director Paul Duran and his cast, it's mighty tedious for the viewer who has to contend with unpleasant characters, hit-and-miss performances and awkwardly staged scenes.
Although it's nice to see old pros like John Randolph, Carol Gustafson and Allan Rich being offered some well-deserved work, it would have been nicer if Duran had bothered to actually write and direct something -- not to mention pick one tone and stick with it -- rather than to apparently wait for inspiration to strike while the camera was rolling. And rolling.
- 10/15/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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