‘Dog’ is NOT as Advertised — it’s BETTER! – Review

Co-Director and Star, Channing Tatum takes us on a road picture in ‘Dog‘ that we did not expect.

Watching the trailer above for ‘Dog‘, one would presume this is a cute, family road picture, or an ‘Odd Couple‘ man versus beast a la, ‘Turner & Hutch‘, ‘K9‘ or the ‘Beethoven‘ franchise. What ‘Dog‘ really is, is a multilayered movie that doesn’t take a hard political stance in Left or Right leanings, but covered in shades of grey that was not expected.

In his first ever writing credit (according to IMDB) Brett Rodriguez and Co-Writer/Co-Director Reid Carolin take us on a west coast journey with a man seeking stability, security, redemption and closure that we did not get from the United Artists/MGM trailer.

Co-Director and Star, Channing Tatum, plays Army Ranger Briggs takes us on a journey in ‘Dog‘ that we did not expect. His is a man who survives with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that must take his late friend’s attack dog, Lulu from Washington State to Arizona for the funeral to be the guest of honor. The catch, Lulu has severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and anxiety, making her a loose canon.

What Rodriguez and Carolin’s writing, along with Carolin and Tatum’s directing, shows the divide in society, with that worthless cesspool known as Portland (yes, I detest that city) to aspects of my warped hometown of San Francisco, and wealth disparity within Los Angeles moving about in a three block radius.

The hotel lobby scene, where Lulu gets loose in the trailer is not what you think it is and the actual scene, along with the one that follows addresses racism, nationalism, forgiveness and compassion.

‘Dog‘, like every picture is not without its problems. There are a couple of moments that are shoehorned in that did not add to the picture, but nor did it detract from the story, they were just there.

There are a couple of small parts with big time players that shall not be spoiled, but will actually be gleefully viewed for your enjoyment.

What ‘Dog‘ sets out to accomplish and does so, is that people need to listen more and talk less. They need to understand the plights of those who survived war, those who had a duty to country and that some of our veterans are one anxiety attack away from being homeless. It shows that we often have preconceived notions that should be re-evaluate and that our hard stances on things by observing situations instead of digging in may be eye opening…like East/West relations in that hotel lobby scene.

‘Dog‘ comes to theaters on Friday, February 18, 2022.