Year of the Dog
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Movie Reviews of Year of the Dog
Movie Review: Molly Shannon surprises with a beautifully understated performance
Summary: 4 Stars
Molly Shannon has made a career out "crazy", so it's not surprising that she shines here as the reclusive Peggy, whose closest and dearest friend is her pet beagle, Pencil. First-time director Mike White shows us how close they are, and how codependent Peggy is: they have dinner together, watch TV together, and sleep together, Peggy cuddling and hugging Pencil to her much as she might a boyfriend or husband. Pencil doesn't seem to mind.
But then Pencil is ripped from her life. Having trespassed onto a neighbor's lawn (John C. Reilly), he is found one morning lying on his side, unresponsive. A terrified Peggy tears off to the veterinarian, but it's too late. He's gone. White handles this delicate scene well. Instead of force-feeding Peggy's loss to us with frolicking scenes of a happy Peggy and a bouncing waggily-tailed Pencil, he simply shows her sobbing in her car in the vet's parking lot. It's raw emotion, and Shannon delivers.
The loss unhinges her, and she turns her mourning into a unique passion for life. Guided by an asexual clinic worker (Peter Saarsgard - if not brilliant as many are claiming, quite good in this roll) from her vet's office who helps place foster dogs, she is introduced to veganism, and PETA, amongst other "animal rights" activities, and she finds herself, suddenly, an accidental activist. Her newfound role disrupts the comfortable ones she has found herself in: spinster, gift-giving aunt, and trusted assistant to her boss.
I referenced above that Shannon has made a career out of "crazy", and while that's true, her more hilarious characters usually display their own unhinged grasp of reality through various forms of physical humor (Mary Catherine Gallagher on SNL, and Val Bassett on Will and Grace). Here Shannon is reserved, at once dramatic and comic.
Anyone that has ever had a pet (er, kid) is sure to love this. You'll laugh, you'll be choked up a bit, and in the end, you will probably cheer Peggy's courageous choices.
4 1/2 stars
Movie Review: Worth watching for Molly Shannon and the wonderful cast . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
The performances in "Year of the Dog" are excellent. Molly Shannon is funny and heartbreaking as Peggy, whose beloved dog, Pencil, unexpectedly dies, causing her life to go into a tailspin. A lot of unfortunate things happen to poor Peggy over the course of the film--and by the end, I was still very concerned about her. That's why I only give the film 4 stars--the ending bothered me because it left me feeling unsettled about Peggy's future. I'm surprised by the extremely negative reviews for "Year of the Dog"--it is "a charming and quirky comedy" as advertised on the DVD case--up to a point. Then the story becomes increasingly dark, which I didn't mind. In fact, it was kind of refreshing because there's nothing I hate worse than a predictable film. And "Year of the Dog" is definitely not that. There are a lot of twists and turns in the movie, and I enjoyed going along for the ride.
But back to the talented cast: Besides Ms. Shannon's stellar performance, John C. Reilly, Peter Sarsgaard, Laura Dern, Josh Pais and especially the fabulous Regina King are all wonderful in their supporting roles. Ms. King steals every scene she is in and provides much of the movie's humor as Peggy's friend and co-worker.
If you enjoyed director/writer Mike White's 2000 film "Chuck & Buck" (which he also wrote), then you'll like "Year of the Dog". Both films are very dark and funny and introduce us to a troubled main character, whom some folks might be turned off by because of their behavior. I wasn't--I wanted Peggy to find happiness in her life--I was in her corner and rooting for her throughout the film. It's to Ms. Shannon's credit--and talent--that you do care about Peggy despite her flaws. "Year of the Dog" isn't a perfect film, but it made me laugh out loud and almost cry and took me on a journey I hadn't been on before. If that sounds like your type of movie, then I hope you will check it out.
Movie Review: Really Funny, Really Sad, Really Human(e)
Summary: 4 Stars
The first thing I noticed in `Year of the Dog' were the vivid colors of the film. Mike White creates a pastel world that says "yes, the sun shines bright even when one is paralized by grief and depression, and ultimately experiences a brief episode of psychosis."
In addition, he captures the reality that despite personal crisis, the people in your everyday life do not stray from their own way of thinking. You have to go through it on your own. Despite dangers.
Peggy, played by Molly Shannon, is a single woman who has lost her dog. She is surrounded by friends and family who eagerly obsess about their children, their jobs, their egos , their causes, and their sex lives.
All of the characters in `Year of the Dog' are myopic to their own way of thinking, and their own way of life. They do not question themselves, even when their choices are screwing them up. They care a lot about Peggy, and they mean well. But they are not able to offer support until Peggy is in serious trouble.
The Beauty of this movie is that Mike White takes a character, who, in any other movie would be marginalized as "Aunt Peggy with pictures of her beagle on her Christmas cards", and makes her the most normal, and most affectionate character in the film. She tolerant and accepting of others. Her breakdown is both funny and difficult to watch.
This story is very human. I think it is about grief and rejection, and what to do (and maybe a few thinks to avoid doing- like adopting a deranged German Shepard) when your loss and grief take you to a place that is difficult for others to understand.
That, and I will never open a wine bottle with my teeth again.
Movie Review: cute little story
Summary: 4 Stars
Year of the Dog is a nice little family story about a woman who lives alone, doesn't particularly like her job, has a couple so-called friends she communicates with at work, and has a neighbor she ends up disliking. What was I believe her brother and his wife constantly walking around with a full of crap attitude, which was a bit funny compared to Molly Shannon's shy, but well-meaning personality.
Anyway, I didn't even get to the point of the movie did I? Molly's character has an obsession with dogs that eventually spins out of control. She ends up hating her neighbor once she finds out how her dog was poisoned, and another interesting thing about the movie was Molly's boss, who comes across like a depressing jerk most of the time.
Another important part of the story was one of Molly's friends constantly trying to hook her up with a man, but the relationships never quite work out. Molly tries to meet a guy but that doesn't work out either thanks to... well, I never quite understood his reasoning, haha.
Molly's character eventually tries convincing her own family not to eat any meat because meat comes from animals, and it rubs people the wrong way, but the great thing about the movie is how there's a bunch of subtle little jokes while the storyline is taking place that you have to pay close attention to notice. I like movies such as these- on the surface a well-meaning family film, but also some clever gags underneath the main focus of the plot.
Overall, not a bad movie by any means.
Movie Review: A great turn from Shannon elevates this quirky film
Summary: 4 Stars
Mike White has done some amazing stuff ("School of Rock" most of "Chuck and Buck") along with some ambitious near-misses ("The Good Girl" the ending of "Chuck and Buck"). He's in similar waters here detailing what happens when a woman who always says "yes" to everyone suddenly starts saying "no." Molly Shannon, never better, is a dog-lover who becomes much, much more than that--dog-idolizer? Dog savior? ANIMAL savior? Who knows? Unafraid to use her wide, wide smile to go from endearing to just a little frightening, it's a fearless performance. (The ending, in its beautiful ambiguity, reminds me a little of "Up the Sandbox.") Things get bumpy in the last half hour (when, at a key point, Shannon intones, "I'm so happy," you may seriously question her sanity), but of all the films I've seen this year, this one keeps lingering in the mind for reasons I can't quite pinpoint. Largely, it's due to Shannon's brave work, but there's also stellar support from Laura Dern (dripping condescension with every syllable) and a sexually ambiguous Peter Sarsgaard (never warmer or more endearing onscreen). A definite A-lister for animal lovers, and for fans of movies about women discovering themselves (it may also remind viewers of "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing"--and that's high praise).