‘Dog’ Review: Another Mindless Movie About A Man and His Dog
Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin can’t lift Dog’s predictable material to interesting heights, even if the lead actor/co-director gives a great lead performance.
It’s not easy reviewing dog movies since virtually every one of them follows the exact same plot structure and emotional notes. However, I expected nothing less from Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin’s directorial debut, ‘Dog’, and got exactly what was being advertised: a cute and cuddly dog picture for fans of the sub-genre and a predictable and ultimately forgettable comedy-drama about a man and his dog for the ones who may not like these movies.
The problem with dog movies is that they’re often too safe most of the time. They follow the most conventional story possible and attempt to elevate its material through its performances and the themes they touch upon. Thankfully, Tatum gives a terrific performance as Jackson Briggs, a recently discharged Army Ranger suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, looking to get back into the Army. However, for his captain to recommend his return, Briggs must drive a dog named Lulu to attend her handler’s funeral, after which the Army will euthanize her due to her aggressive behavior. Predictably, Briggs and Lulu form a bond together, and they will soon become inseparable..and cue a large puddle of tears inside the cinema.
Every moment designed to make you laugh happens, and every “tug in the heartstrings” moment will also make you cry on cue as if the movie was directed by an algorithm that knows precisely which moments work and which do not. With the ‘Jump Street’ films and ‘Magic Mike’, respectively, Tatum is a highly versatile actor and has proven himself to handle both comedic and dramatic roles. He balances a slew of emotions incredibly well here. He’s a natural talent, lights up the screen during more hilarious sequences, and makes us feel for him whenever something terrible happens to him or when he suffers heavily from the effects of war.
A great scene perfectly showcases his ability to juggle both light-hearted humor and serious drama, where he confronts a police interrogator played by Bill Burr. At first, the conversation is quite severe but becomes more playful as it goes along until Tatum ultimately gets the last laugh. It’s a significant bit of dialogue that swerves inside two emotional tones and demonstrates the lasting star power of Tatum. Hell, he doesn’t need a dog to show how great of an actor he is; he can do virtually anything well and manages to make the movie way more enjoyable than it is.
Because the film itself is pretty standard. Everything that’s supposed to happen for the audience member to cry occurs without fail and surprise. As Briggs gets more and more attached to the dog, we are supposed to understand their feelings for one another. Both have experienced unspeakable horrors during the War and must now live with the guilt and trauma that has affected the quality of their lives. Whenever the movie touches upon the dog suffering from PTSD, it only explores it more superficially than Briggs waking up in the middle of the night having an extreme episode of PTSD.
You can tell Lulu is also suffering through her erratic behavior. Still, instead of expanding on their experiences with trauma or truly exploring a legitimately human relationship between the two, where they learn to heal from their psychological scars together, the movie prefers to stay in platitudes. This involves uncomfortable sex jokes, a misunderstanding involving a weed farmer’s husband played by Kevin Nash, and an almost fifteen-minute long bit where Briggs pretends to be a blind veteran and his service dog to get a free room at a hotel. Unfortunately, it seems Tatum and Carolin are more interested in these events than learning about Briggs and Lulu’s PTSD and making it the emotional core of the movie.
It’s probably why the film's genuinely “emotional” moments don’t work as well as Tatum and Carolin believe they do because we don’t spend time developing the film’s bond. It only happens artificially, as Briggs spends more time with Lulu but never truly understands her. It’s particularly frustrating when the movie keeps tugging in the heartstrings, but their connection feels too distant for us to care about them too much, honestly. The unspoken rule of the dog movie is that the audience member should care more about the animal than the human. When you spend more time focusing on the human and putting the dog as the second fiddle, you know you’ve not done your job right.
As a result, Dog doesn't succeed the way it should be. An excellent lead performance by Channing Tatum elevates its material, but the movie re-treads emotional arcs we’ve all seen before in the most conventional way possible. It also never focuses on its more important aspect: how Briggs’ relationship with his dog will help both of them heal from their past trauma or become better human beings and live their lives to the best of their abilities. So much potential squandered in lowbrow humor and predictable situations.