Year of the Dog

I'm a sucker for movies about people and their pets. This film stars former SNL player Molly Shannon as a secretary whose personal life revolves around her beagle, Pencil. When he passes away unexpectedly, she has to find another reason to go on. The film first hints that she'll discover the world of humans around her, particularly men, as two new ones (John C. Reilly & Peter Saarsgard) enter her life. But it smartly steers away from the obvious and veers into a more original voyage of self-discovery. My only real problem with the film is that a lot of the supporting characters are a little too caricature-esquire (notably Shannon's boss, played by Josh Pais), but writer/director White does a good job of redeeming them for the most part. A very touching, gentle film that's well worth your time.

This was probably not a good movie for me to watch. I have had to put two dogs down and one just died on me. If you are out digging a grave at 5.am., bawling your eyes out, then you know what someone goes through when they lose a pet.

So, I could empathize with Peggy (Molly Shannon) and see how she could be easily swayed by Newt (Peter Sarsgaard). She was vulnerable and was easily pushed over the deep end.

It is unrealistic to think that friends, family, and co-workers will be so understanding. That only happens in the movies.

But, it was nice to see her follow her passion. That was the plus of the movie that focused just a bit too much on animal abuse.

"Year of the Dog" is by no means a Hollywood movie. No "perfect" characters here. No "perfect" story. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Hollywood movie. By all means, bring on the popcorn! We do, indeed, need that sort of entertainment in this day and age. I truly love it!

I'm just saying that this film is another breed altogether. "Year of the Dog" deals with situations, realities, and characters one might actually encounter in real life.

This film is brilliant in that it doesn't take sides. An animal lover (like myself) can watch it, and feel fulfilled and amused. A non-animal-lover (unlike myself) can likewise watch it, and feel fulfilled and amused.

Quite a tightrope writer/director Mr. White has created for himself. . .and completely succeeded at traversing. Bravo sir!

It's ultimately a story about how different sorts of people find a way of dealing with the painful events in their lives.

The actors are all on top form (particularly Regina King, Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Josh Pais, and Peter Saarsgard--not to mention all the beautiful animals).

One could view this story as an exploration of "Dysfunction in modern America". Or, one could view this story as an exploration of "How to deal with dysfunction in modern America".

Take your pick...

Most Americans have at one point in their lives experienced love for a dog or a cat. This movie captures that feeling and yet it shows what can happen when a person lets this love become all consuming and it does a great job. This is my personal favorite movie of 2007.

The characters that make up the movie are caricatures but yet they represent something real in all of us and and the themes in the movie accurately capture many issues that Americans face in contemporary society. What I like best is that "dog haters", if such people exist, will find much to enjoy in the movie as well. This is because the dark side of animal love is given equal time and thought as is given to the beauty of giving your heart and soul fully to the love of animals. Moreover, the main character is as easy to laugh at as to cry with.

This isn't some silly comedy like most of the other movies with dog in the title which are all in my opinion dogs. This is a black comedy with penetrating insights into issues that have a lot of proponents on opposite sides of a long spectrum. If you like to see a movie where you can check your brain in at the ticket booth then this one is probably not for you. If you like to be enlightened as well as entertained, check this out because in addition to giving the viewer a well thought out look at canine animals, this film is a brilliant portrayal of the psychology of the human animal as well.

This is not a comedy. It's actually a rather complicated movie. If you're interested in seeing Molly Shannon make goofy faces, you probably should skip it. As it is, she does a rather admirable job of portraying someone who is finally finding herself.

Molly Shannon, as Peggy, finds out about the way animals are treated in the food industry and decides to go vegan. Like many new converts, however, she is overzealous and confused. Frankly, she does some really horrible things in her quest to find peace with her new beliefs. This made me rather uncomfortable. As a vegan, I was concerned: Director Mike White is known for making characters who are less-than-perfect, but what if viewers don't realize that? What if they think we're supposed to admire this woman? We aren't, obviously. The director is mostly vegan himself, and it's clear that he is aware of a lot of the struggles one goes through as a whole new world opens up. Peggy, who I ASSUME we're supposed to realize is already a little off-balance, responds by going a little psychotic.

But by the end of the film, she is finally finding peace with herself. It's a pleasant and inspiring ending and somewhat redeems the awful things she's done...not quite enough, in my opinion, if only for a viewing public who may already be confused about what it means to be vegan.

Would I recommend this movie? Yes, if you think you can go in and appreciate it on its merits without being biased as to whether veganism is right or wrong. That isn't the point of the thing--it's a coming-of-age movie about a middle-aged woman. Like I said earlier, it's basically a movie about finding oneself.