Year Of The Dog

Release date: April 20, 2007
Directed by: Mike White
Starring: Molly Shannon, Peter Sarsgaard, Regina King, John C. Reilly, Laura Dern

Molly Shannon is known for being a funny girl. So even when she's not in a comedy, you at least expect her to elicit a chuckle or two. And that's the biggest problem with Year Of The Dog.

In addition to it not being a comedy (despite appearances to the contrary), it's downright depressing and annoying in its attempt to jam some self-righteous message down your throat. What is that message? It's hard to know exactly what first-time director Mike White, known for writing off-beat, character-driven comedies (Nacho Libre, The School Of Rock), had in mind. One thing's for sure, this movie makes dog lovers look like mentally unstable, desperate fanatics.

Peggy (Shannon), a happy-go-lucky secretary is completely in love with her obedient and oh-so-cute dog, Pencil. While her life is painfully boring, she appears to be content in her job and at happy with her loyal canine companion. Then, one night, Pencil wanders out into the neighbour's yard (Reilly) and is found dead the next day.

Devastated by Pencil's death, Peggy's life spirals out of control. While there are a series of side stories involving Peggy's brother and his wife (Dern), who are attractive, rich yuppies with no "real" problems, each of these moments are filled with awkward dialogue and a series of unexplained events. When co-worker Layla (King) and the SPCA guy Newt (Sarsgaard), who comforts Peggy after Pencil's death, become intertwined in Peggy's mission to save the dogs of America, the film goes from bad to worse.

It's difficult to wrap your head around just about everything that transpires. If the point is to make a statement about cruelty to animals and illustrate to all those carnivores out there why it pays to become a vegan, it fails miserably. Something is terribly wrong when dogs are the most interesting part of a movie.