Dawg

Bad Boy, screened at the American Film Market 2002 under its working title "Dawg", overcomes a lightweight premise with some believable acting by Denis Leary and Elizabeth Hurley.

Leary is Dawg who is so busy womanizing he arrives too late for his grandmother's funeral but, no matter, she has left him a cool million subject to one condition. As explained by estate executor Anna Lockhart (Hurley), Dawg must contact at least a dozen of the scores of women he has loved and left during his lifetime and beg for their forgiveness. Reluctantly, Dawg sets out on his odyssey which takes him, and the lawyer, to venues throughout California.

Director Victoria Hotchberg, better known for her work in episodic television, keeps the pace lively and interesting and imparts a degree of charm to the project. Not a major film but an entertaining candidate for anyone's date-movie list.

Doug (Denis Leary) is a financial planner who makes the mistake of having a fling with an older woman, for she turns out to be his boss' wife. Poor Dawgie is promptly fired. To add insult to injury, the small time cad's grandmother dies, too. Late for the funeral, Doug nevertheless is startled to meet his grandmother's lawyer, Anna (Elizabeth Hurley) who promptly informs him that he, Doug, is the only heir. But, wait. Although he could inherit a million flat, there are conditions. Doug's grandmother knew all too well of her relative's penchant for flings with a long line of women and, therefore, her will decrees that Doug must get twelve old flames to say the words "I forgive you" before he can touch the dough. Horrors! Yet, Doug is a savvy operator and when he and Anna start on their journey to track down his ex's, she is amazed to find he can sometimes trick his way into getting the women to speak the appropriate phrase. Will he succeed in pocketing the money? This is a humorous and clever romcom but, as it walks on the wild side from time to time, can not be described as "good, clean fun". If you love Doris Day, your eyebrows might raise a bit over this one. Even so, Leary and Hurley are a dynamite combination, very funny and engaging. The west coast scenery is also quite nice while the costuming is first rate. All of the movie's production values are fine, too. As for the script, it is very comical, as some of Doug's past girlfriends are eccentric, to say the least. If you a seeker of funny love stories, you should check this one out. It is not a "dawg" at all but, rather, should fill an otherwise dull evening with some big laughs and sighs.

Would you risk this embarrassment to collect inheritance money? The movie focuses on a wealthy bloke that has been a player with the women over the years. When his grandmother dies, she didn't approve of his player mentality, she made a stipulation in her will that he get 12 women to tell him they forgive him for his past transgressions before he can claim the sizable inheritance. And with Elizabeth Hurley along for the ride as the attorney to confirm the women's forgiveness, the movie sets off. Get ready for a slew of what hijinks will occur and what morals will he learn along the way and will old grandma be savvier than one may think? This is slightly better than expected with a genuine twist. Cinematically, there was zero care for cinematography as it was sitcom quality. There was occasional cause for light snickering. Something to watch while folding laundry.

Most of this movie is a would-be sex comedy, but it's rarely even remotely funny. The characters are unappealing, the situation is hard to accept, and the plot works itself out mechanically, with few details of any interest.



But surprisingly, near the end it unexpectedly swerves into more serious material, and is far more successful. The actual ending is unexpected and even touching. Maybe trying to make this as a comedy was a mistake.

Being an insomniac, I caught this movie on HBO late at night. I understand the movie never made it to theaters...and I can understand why. It's not a horrible film, but not worth the price of admission. It's basically a farce, filled with sitcom-like scenarios and low-brow humor. But I was entertained, partially because I just like Denis Leary. The plot doesn't contain much logic. Leary's character is forced to make his amends with 12 of his ex-girlfriends, who he just used for sex, in order to receive millions of dollars from his grandmother's will. In order to receive the inheritance, each woman must literally say the words "I forgive you." First of all, what are the chances that every one of these women are going to be home when he shows up at the door? And the way in which these women say "I forgive you" is solely motivated by the plot and not their characters. Even if they did want to forgive Leary's character, why do they all phrase their forgiveness in those three exact words? As I said, this movie doesn't contain much logic. I did laugh, though. This is simply one of those flicks you check out when it airs late night on cable when there's nothing else on.