The Shaggy Dog

Posted on March 8, 2006 at 12:17 pm

A ring falls into the pants cuff worn by teenager Wilby Daniels (Tommy Kirk) while he is visiting a museum, and, not noticing, he carries it home with him. The ring’s ancient spell turns him into a huge shaggy dog, identical to the one owned by his pretty new neighbor, Franceska (Roberta Shore). Wilby’s father (Fred MacMurray) is allergic to dogs, so Wilby hides out in Franceska’s house, where he overhears Franceska’s father plotting to steal secret missile plans. Still a dog, Wilby has to figure out a way to foil the spies and save Franceska.

This low-key fantasy/comedy is a long-time family favorite, and children love to see the dog driving the car and wearing pajamas.

The 1976 sequel, The Shaggy D.A. was followed by more two made-for-television sequels starring Harry Anderson.

Related Tags:

 

Comedy Family Issues Fantasy

The Shaggy Dog

Posted on March 8, 2006 at 12:14 pm

B-
Lowest Recommended Age: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating: Rated PG for some mild rude humor.
Profanity: Some crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Joke about drinking
Violence/ Scariness: Comic peril and violence, dog bite, no one seriously hurt
Diversity Issues: Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters: 2006
Date Released to DVD: 2006
Amazon.com ASIN: B000FKP3XY

An uninspired all-the-best-parts-are-in-the-trailer remake, this is a showcase for two things: Tim Allen’s mugging and some computer wizard-style special effects. The limited entertainment value of both items and a solid supporting cast are not quite enough to make up for a predictable script and faux aw-moment theme.


Allen plays Dave, an assistant District Attorney in the middle of a big trial that is his chance to show he can handle the top job. A high school teacher is charged with starting a fire in a lab that tests animals for medical research, and Dave wants the jury to find him guilty.


He is so preoccupied with the trial that he doesn’t notice the problems at home. His son is failing math. His daughter is one of the protesters at the lab and she thinks her teacher is a hero and her father is the bad guy. And his wife (“Sex in the City’s” Kristen Davis) feels neglected and abandoned.


It turns out something fishy, or, I should say doggy is going on at the lab. Dr. Kozak (Robert Downey, Jr.) has captured a mysterious sheepdog that is still healthy and youthful although it is 300 years old and is trying to find a way to transfer his genetic makeup to humans. When Dave is bitten by the dog, he starts scratching behind his ear, lapping up his food, and growling at his opposing counsel. Then he turns into a dog.


This sets the stage for two developments: mildly amusing mix-ups as Dave-the-dog tries to navigate the human world, transforming back and forth from mannish-dog to doggish-man and lessons learned as Dave discovers how many things he wants to be able to say, now that he can’t do anything but bark. The lab experiments include CGI genetic cross-breeds like a dog-frog combo that exemplify this movie’s own uneasy mixture of slapstick and sentiment.

It feels too long, even at 98 minutes, over-stuffed with an under-used supporting cast that includes Davis, Downey, Danny Glover, Jane Curtin, and Philp Baker Hall. Craig Kilborn, in a brief role, manages to wear out his welcome quickly and then hang around to wear it out again.

Whether it’s a fantasy-comedy or a fantasy-drama, whether a magical spell or some plot-driven subterfuge, transformation in a movie plays the same role as any other epic journey. It gives the character a chance to understand who and what he was and to learn what he can do better.


All of that happens here, as Dave learns that he wasn’t really paying attention to his family and how much he needed them. But the set-up is so indestructible and the dog is so irresistible that, buoyed by Allen’s willingness to do whatever it takes for a laugh provide some light-weight pleasure.


Parents should know that this movie has some crude language and humor for a PG, including bathroom jokes and and references to body cavity searches, getting “fixed,” and being “sold” in prison. At one point, the kids are concerned that their parents are splitting up. A strength of the movie is the positive portrayal of a friendship between people of different genders and races.


Families who see this movie should talk about what being a dog helped Dave to see differently. Why did he neglect his family? Would you like to live for 300 years? What would you do differently? Families who want to find out more about the issue of animal testing can find it here and here.


Families who enjoy this movie should see the original, with Fred MacMurray and the sequel with Dean Jones, The Shaggy D.A..

Related Tags:

 

Comedy Family Issues Fantasy Movies -- format Remake

Block Party

Posted on March 2, 2006 at 12:27 pm

B+
Lowest Recommended Age: High School
MPAA Rating: Rated R for language.
Profanity: Very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs: References to alcohol and drugs
Violence/ Scariness: None
Diversity Issues: A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters: 2006
Date Released to DVD: 2006
Amazon.com ASIN: B000FMH8RG

The regal Erykah Badu takes the stage, her slender form topped with an enormous puff of hair that hangs down over her face. But the stage is outdoors on a gusty, rainy day, and all of a sudden it is blown back and then off! She keeps singing.

Related Tags:

 

Comedy Documentary Movies -- format Musical

Doogal

Posted on February 26, 2006 at 12:35 pm

C
Lowest Recommended Age: Kindergarten - 3rd Grade
MPAA Rating: Rated PG
Profanity: Some schoolyard language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Brief joke
Violence/ Scariness: Cartoony peril and violence, characters shoot lightning bolts, scary skeletons, characters apparently killed
Diversity Issues: Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters: 2006
Date Released to DVD: 2006
Amazon.com ASIN: B000F0V0KO

This tiresome animated quest story starts out uninspired but quickly becomes irritating. Half an hour into its 80 minute running time, the child behind me asked hopefully, “Is that the end?” If only.


Has anyone behind this movie ever met a child? The story, about an evil wizard who is after three magic diamonds and the dog, rabbit, cow, and snail who try to stop him, has some mild appeal, but the characters are so uninteresting, most of the artwork so unimaginative, and the tone so uneven that it is unlikely to hold the interest of any age group.


This is a G-rated film directed at children that tries to make jokes about the Blue Man Group, Donald Trump, Simon and Garfunkel, Austin Powers, the MTV car fix-up show “Pimp My Ride,” Mission Impossible, human resources departments and the inadequacies of interns, Dawn of the Dead, music group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. These are not the kind of keep-the-grownups-happy jokes from Shrek and The Incredibles. They are just stale throw-in-any-pop-culture-reference non-jokes-in-a-hopeless-attempt-to-sound-hip-and-snarky.


The story itself is sugary pap of the “kids don’t know any better so it won’t matter if there’s nothing especially vivid or memorable” category. It keeps telling us that friendship and togetherness are important, but we never have any reason to believe that they believe it, much less that we should. Even the voice talents of Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, and Jimmy Fallon can’t make up for a lackluster script and sluggish pacing. The animation has the low-budget CGI look: meticulous textures but movement as jerky and unpersuasive as Davey and Goliath.


Originally made in England, the movie was redubbed to make it more accessible to an American audience. Apparently, they didn’t think American children would find British accents appealing. The slightly governess-y narration by Dame Judi Dench is, however, the best part of the movie, suggesting that it might have been better to leave it as it was.

Parents should know that, despite the G rating, this movie may be too intense for younger children. Wizards fight with lightning bolts, scary skeletons guard a jewel, children are locked in a frozen merry-go-round, characters are in peril and there are some apparent deaths. There is some crude schoolyard language (indcluding the expression “pimp my ride”), a brief joke about substance abuse, and some potty humor.


Families who see this movie should talk about how friendship and loyalty made it possible for Doogal and the others to succeed.


Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Yellow Submarine and The Thief and the Cobbler.

Related Tags:

 

Action/Adventure Animation Comedy Family Issues Movies -- format

Madea’s Family Reunion

Posted on February 25, 2006 at 12:39 pm

B+
Lowest Recommended Age: High School
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, domestic violence, sex and drug references.
Profanity: Some strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Drinking, references to drug abuse
Violence/ Scariness: Domestic abuse, spanking, hitting
Diversity Issues: A strength of the movie is the positive portrayal of minority and religious characters
Date Released to Theaters: 2006
Date Released to DVD: 2006
Amazon.com ASIN: B000F9SO0O

As the Borg say on “Star Trek,” “Resistance is futile.” Don’t even try to get in the way of Madea, that pistol-packing, Bible-thumping, larger than life powerhouse and force for good creation of Tyler Perry, who also plays the part. Perry is something of a larger-than-life powerhouse himself, this time not just writing the film, playing Madea, her brother Joe, and her nephew Brian, and composing some of the music but directing as well.


You can’t judge this movie with the same standards you would apply to the usual multiplex fodder with its neat categories and linear construction. This happy mash-up of romance, drama, low comedy and high drama works because it is all tied together by Perry’s open-hearted conviction. The sincerity of his commitment is the throughline that keeps the audience connected to the story and the characters.

In addition, the crazy-quilt shifts in tone and genre are well suited to a story of a large extended family where at any given moment characters are facing a broad variety of financial, spiritual, moral, psychological, and work-related challenges, even the dreaded math problems that Madea refers to as “Al Jarreau.” She might not know the word “algebra,” but if there is an extended family member who has a problem with it and — this is the important part — is ready to be helped, Madea will find some way and some one who can give what is needed.


The person in need of some help with homework is a young girl who comes to live with Madea when a judge gives her the choice of becoming the girl’s foster mother or going to jail for violation of her parole. Many movies would make this the center focus of the story with a series of heartwarming incidents showing us the growing respect and affection between them, but this movie doesn’t have time. Medea tells the girl (the marvelous Keke Palmer) to shape up, smacking her on the butt, stands up for her with a bully on the school bus (by hitting him upside the head), promises that homework help, and that’s it.


Madea’s niece (Lisa Arrindell Anderson as Vanessa) has moved back in with her, bringing her two children. She has given her life to God and does not want to get involved with a man. But gorgeous bus driver/painter Frank (Boris Kodjoe) is also a committed Christian and loving parent. She is drawn to him, but can she trust herself? Can she let herself trust him?


Vanessa’s half-sister Lisa (Rochelle Aytes) is engaged to a wealthy banker (Blair Underwood) who beats her. Her mother Victoria (Lynn Whitfield, channeling “Dynesty-era” Joan Collins) tells her to do whatever it takes to keep him happy.


Through all of this Madea is there to knock down those who are above themselves and lift up those who don’t ask or expect the best for themselves. Her brother Joe (also played by Perry) is there to provide vulgar humor. But the heart of the story is the relationship between Lisa and Vanessa and their mother. Perry shows us that Victoria is a victim as well as a predator but does not let that excuse her behavior. Cecily Tyson and Maya Angelou appear as family matriarchs at the reunion, standing in front of a shack that family members once lived in as slaves and then as property owners and telling the group that now is the time to begin to act with responsibility, dignity, and integrity. Madea is Perry’s creation, but it is Tyson and Angelou who deliver his real message.

Parents should know that the movie has some mature themes, including child sexual abuse, adultery, out of wedlock children, and domestic violence. There are references to prostitution and drug addiction. Madea advocates corporal punishment. She does not hesitate to whack a child or an adult. The movie also has some crude humor including potty jokes and vulgar references to sex. Strengths of the movie include the portrayal of strong, devoted, responsible, and loving minority characters, positive portrayal of religious conviction as a sustaining force in the lives of some characters, and an explicit commitment by a dating couple to remain chaste until marriage.


Families who see this movie should talk about how Madea always finds a way to help those who are willing to accept it.


Families who enjoy this film will enjoy Diary of a Mad Black Woman and the Tyler Perry collection. They might also like to try to see Perry perform in person in one of his plays.

Related Tags:

 

Comedy Drama Movies -- format Romance
THE MOVIE MOM® is a registered trademark of Nell Minow. Use of the mark without express consent from Nell Minow constitutes trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws. All material © Nell Minow 1995-2024, all rights reserved, and no use or republication is permitted without explicit permission. This site hosts Nell Minow’s Movie Mom® archive, with material that originally appeared on Yahoo! Movies, Beliefnet, and other sources. Much of her new material can be found at Rogerebert.com, Huffington Post, and WheretoWatch. Her books include The Movie Mom’s Guide to Family Movies and 101 Must-See Movie Moments, and she can be heard each week on radio stations across the country.

Website Designed by Max LaZebnik