by Jake Hjort, Contributing Writer
If you are wondering whether or not you’ll have a good time with Strays, just ask yourself one question: Do you think the idea of dogs being crass is hilarious? If the answer is yes, you may enjoy the film, but if not, I’d suggest skipping this one entirely. Telling the story of Reggie (Will Ferrell), a dog seeking revenge after being abandoned by his terrible owner Doug (Will Forte), Strays is built upon a simple premise: It’s funny when cute dogs say bad words. If this was the basis for a sketch on Saturday Night Live, and all the best jokes were condensed down to a five-minute block, then this may be more palatable; but stretched across a feature film with little else to offer, these jokes alone do not make for a particularly pleasant experience.
Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t like raunch-coms in general. Some of my favorite comedies would definitely fit the bill, and you can read about many great ones in our most recent Best Ever Challenge. However, the ones that stand out from the pack work because they are more than just the inappropriate humor; they typically have a strong emotional core, or a great script that leaves you not only laughing, but thinking too. Unfortunately, Strays has little of either. Frankly, if it weren’t for the R-rated language, this would feel like your typically churned-out children’s film with abundant toilet humor and incredibly simple characters and arcs.
As far as the characters are concerned, most are fairly shallow and one-dimensional. Doug is a comically vile character: a deadbeat, unemployed stoner who hates his dog, cheats on his girlfriend, and is even implied to be a registered sex offender. The primary canine character is the Border Terrier Reggie, who is admittedly one of the cutest dogs I’ve ever seen in a movie, a naïve pup who struggles to find his place in the world after his abandonment. From Buddy the Elf to Ricky Bobby, Ferrell has certainly made a name for himself playing characters whose naivety borders on ignorance, and while Reggie certainly has some of his signature charm, not all the magic of those earlier roles transcends here. Joining Reggie on his journey for revenge are the Boston Terrier Bug (Jamie Foxx), Australian Shepherd Maggie (Isla Fisher), and Great Dane Hunter (Randall Park), each with their own couple character traits and miniature arcs, none of which are terribly moving or memorable.
By far, my favorite dog is a Golden Retriever voiced by Josh Gad, who only appears in a couple scenes, but produced some of the audible chuckles that the film extracted from me. Funnily enough, this dog is perhaps the most straight-laced in the entire film, and I don’t believe he curses a single time, showing that writers may have been able to come up with something more enjoyable if they didn’t lean so heavily on the crudeness.
When it comes to pathos, the film is a complete miss. I am a huge dog lover — I have two of my own, I work at a veterinary clinic, and I’ve cried countless times at Sarah McLachlan’s ASPCA commercials — yet I found myself largely unaffected by what are clearly intended to be the film’s emotional moments. I think this is largely because these moments are never given the time to really simmer, instead quickly being undercut by a joke and minimizing the impact of the scene. A film that’s primarily about mistreated stray dogs should have absolutely no issue drawing out sympathy and emotion, making Strays failure to do so completely baffling.
At the risk of verging too far into the realm of nitpicking, I do want to briefly touch on the accuracy of the portrayals of dogs in the movie. As someone who works with dogs every day, I do think the film does a pretty good job capturing their behavior, and translating a lot of their quirks and habits into the personalities of the characters. The writers clearly love, and have spent a good amount of time with, dogs, highlighting even some breed specific nuances such as anxiety in Great Danes. That being said, there are few issues with their anatomy and physiology, most bothersome to me being several allusions to Bug, a dog who has clearly been neutered, being an intact male. Lastly, as a PSA, please don’t give your dogs beer — they aren’t going to just have a good time. Even a small amount can be severely toxic.
Strays isn’t just a bad movie, it’s a deeply disappointing one for me. I certainly didn’t expect to walk out of the theater having seen my new favorite movie or an Oscar contender, but I at least thought that I was squarely in the target demographic and would have a good time with it. Unfortunately, its script only has one thing to offer, and it is not even close to being enough to carry an entire film. I’m certain there are people out there who are going to love this film, but I am sad to say that I cannot count myself among them.
Rating: Didn’t like it
Strays is currently playing in theaters
You can read more from Jake Hjort, and follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd