Review

Review Date: 29-April-07
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Junk

Year of the Dog (2007)

The trailer for "Year of the Dog" made it look like a romantic comedy that tries to be more offbeat than the average (non-gorgeous female star...) while still following the familiar rules (...who finds love when she least expects it). Offbeat or no, the rule-following romantic comedy is the sort of thing I normally avoid like the plague, but in this case (as with the upcoming "Waitress") I was unable to resist one of the suitors in the mix, Peter Sarsgaard. I can't get enough of the sleepy-eyed actor who has always improved the movies he has been in with intense talent and undefinable charisma. Until now.

"Year of the Dog," which was written and directed by Mike White, is a tedious and creepy movie which definitely does not conform to the romantic comedy mold but doesn't fit in any other, more palatable mold either. Its thin plot revolves around a frumpy secretary named Peggy (Molly Shannon) who responds to the death of her beloved beagle by embarking on a journey towards inner fulfillment, which happens to look a lot like Wackoville. Peggy's life is littered with overly quirky characters who don't understand her and can't fill up her emptiness, including a work-obsessed boss (Josh Pais), a babbling cubicle girlfriend (Regina King), a good ol' boy neighbor (John C. Reilly), and a doofus brother (Thomas McCarthy) with a cheerfully compulsive wife (Laura Dern, the only amusing element of the flick). She thinks she has found her soulmate when she meets a fellow dog-lover played by Sarsgaard, but he does what all humans do: he lets poor Peggy down. At least mutts just piddle on the rug.

As the movie drags on with scene after scene of Peggy looking distraught or gazing at livestock (she branches out to new animals during her quest), she engages in increasingly reprehensible behavior which eventually gets her fired and lands her in jail. And — if I'm getting this right — we are supposed to think that's good. You know, productive in that it helps her achieve a better understanding of the intricacies of life and her place within it. Personally, I think animals can add a wonderful richness to the human experience, but they aren't sufficient excuse for a woman to go off the deep end or sufficient reason for me to cheer her on. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry as "Year of the Dog" concluded, so I chose a third option: to hurry away and begin forgetting it pronto.

Copyright © 2007 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.