by Nick Ferro, Contributing Writer
When it comes to movies that feature a dog as one of the primary characters, I tend to shy away from checking them out, primarily because these movies tend to lean on the dog dying by the end of the film as a way to elicit an emotional response. I am not a fan of those types of movies. Not because I’m an animal lover or had a soft spot for cute pup-pups (I do love me a cute pupper), but because these movies usually feel exploitative of our feelings of animals as a way to make us cry, rather than doing work to be truly moving. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of animal movies that are beautifully crafted where the animal dies at the end; I just would rather skip all of them than risk putting myself through the bad ones. That brings us to Channing Tatum’s directorial debut of Dog. Tatum, with his co-director Reid Carolin, teamed up to tell a story about post-traumatic stress and healing through the eyes of two former army rangers — one human and one K9. Dog is a buddy “dramedy” road trip movie where Tatum’s character, Briggs, is trying to get back to active duty after having suffered a traumatic brain injury. He is not transitioning back into civilian life well and longs to be among his fellow rangers once more. When a former friend, comrade, and K9 handler is killed in a car accident, he is tasked with taking Lulu, a K9 ranger who also suffered an injury that removed her from the service, to the funeral. In addition to taking Lulu to the funeral, because she has become too aggressive and unpredictable, the army has scheduled to have her put down after the funeral.
I saw the first trailer of this film and was amused by the humor and charm of Tatum; he has become a favorite of mine in the past few years when it comes to comedy. So I decided to give Dog a chance, and I was pleasantly surprised. Briggs’ relationship with Lulu is your standard “odd couple” fare with them being at odds off the bat and slowly learning to understand and accept each other. The comedy was pretty average, but Tatum’s delivery elevated the material, and I found myself chuckling quite a bit throughout.
For a first-time directing team, I was impressed by the manner in which the film was presented. It was well-shot, and although there were many of the standard “road trip” scenes of cars driving through the majestic countryside, there was something extra in some scenes of the pair together on a cliffside, or during a sunset that felt like the work of a more experienced director.
Dog could have been just your average run-of-the-mill story where you sit and wonder, will the dog make it to the end? However, it is elevated with the added element of two individuals trying to work through the trauma they went through while in service to their country. I don’t have military experience, but from what I know from friends who do, I feel that this movie really tries to shed light on an issue that is not often given the proper attention. As they make their way from Washington to Arizona, they come across different people who help in adding to their understanding of each other’s pain, the most important being a stop in Los Angeles to visit Lulu’s brother, Nuke, another rehabilitated army dog under the care of Ethan Suplee’s character Noah. Noah is another veteran who we come to learn was, not too long ago, down on his luck much like Briggs, and through a lot of hard work and therapy, he was able to build a stable life for himself, which he attributes partially to taking on the responsibility of helping Nuke reacclimate and recover from the trauma of war. As a long time fan of Suplee, dating back to his time on Boy Meets World, I have a huge soft spot for him, so his part in the film was the standout for me. He delivered a subtle performance that drove home the point that healing from trauma cannot be achieved overnight and quickly forgotten, but with constant work and a lifelong commitment. Other movies might be more heavy-handed with this message or cast a big-name cameo actor to deliver it in order to drive home the point, but Suplee is, in my opinion perfect.
This brings us to the big question of the movie… what happens to Lulu? Well you will have to find out for yourself by either checking out the movie or looking for answers online, because unlike the most recent movie trailer for Dog, I will not spoil that particular point for you. Overall, I think Dog set out to do exactly what Tatum and Carolin intended. It was touching and brought light to a serious issue, while making the audience laugh along the way. I also learned that Tatum developed this story as a way to pay tribute to his own dog (also named Lulu) who passed away recently. I wouldn’t say you need to rush out and see Dog immediately, but if you get a chance to see it, don’t let it pass you by because you may enjoy the experience.
Grade: B
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