Year of the Dog (2007)
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Reviews Counted: 141
Fresh: 98 | Rotten: 43
Year of the Dog is a warm and quirky comedy that never condescends to its eccentric characters.
Average Rating: 7/10
Critic Reviews: 42
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 8
Year of the Dog is a warm and quirky comedy that never condescends to its eccentric characters.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.9/5
User Ratings: 41,277
My Rating
Movie Info
An unremarkable administrative assistant finds her life going to the dogs both literally and figuratively in actor/screenwriter-turned-director Mike White's dark comedy drama. An inexplicably cheerful office worker whose somewhat sad excuse for a life seems to revolve around her pet beagle Pencil, Peggy (Molly Shannon) seems to relate better to her four-legged friend than she does to most humans. Most of her person-to-person interaction revolves around doting on other people's children and
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Cast
-
Molly Shannon
Peggy -
Laura Dern
Bret -
Regina King
Layla -
Tom McCarthy
Pier -
Josh Pais
Robin -
-
Peter Sarsgaard
Newt -
Amy Schlagel
Lissie -
Zoe Schlagel
Lissie -
Dale Godboldo
Don -
Inara George
Holly -
Liza Weil
Trishelle -
Jon Shere
Pound Employee -
Christy Moore
Al's Girlfriend -
Audrey Wasilewski
Audrey -
Brenda Canela
Brenda -
Craig Cackowski
Craig -
Steve Berg
Steve -
Susan Mackin
Susan -
Chuck Duffy
Jeff -
Sonya Eddy
Nurse -
Ursula Brauner
Dog Owner -
Giddle Partridge
Blond Floozie
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All Critics (145) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (100) | Rotten (43) | DVD (12)
Though the film falters in terms of its lack of a streamlined narrative, there is no denying that it is packed to the rafters with meaty ideas and characters who are charged with a satisfying moral ambivalence.
Top CriticYear of the Dog asks how far we should be willing to go for the love of animals, and for that matter, for love itself.
White's humanist account of a woman more comfortable with animals than people is another intricately crosshatched sketch in his gallery of outsiders.
There are those who believe empathy is the quality that separates man from beast, but what does it say that White directs his compassion exclusively toward animals?
Much is said in little moments: The entire cast offers jots of humor and insight, from Reilly and Sarsgaard to Laura Dern as a spiny sister-in-law and Regina King as Layla, a vehemently supportive friend.
Year of the Dog is a feel-good, feel-bad movie about personal choice in the face of an overwhelming world. It brings more than you expect and leaves you wondering. How extraordinarily brave.
Amid fearsome cataracts of disdain, Shannon somehow survives
Shannon seems like quite an unorthodox choice for such a subdued, minimalistic character, but White actually wrote the part for her and she does him proud.
Director Mike White is really good at creating an uneasy feeling in a normal setting. But the question remains, do you want him to?
SNL alum shines as grieving, lonely animal lover.
poly syntoma hanei to stoho toy kai to neronei me synaisthimatikizoyses katastaseis kai pepatimenes koinonikes eyaisthisies, arhizontas toys kykloys gyro ap' ta idia kai ta idia, alla toylahiston ehei merika haritomena kadrarismata kai tin Molly Shannon m
Despite director Mike White's ability to make the heartfelt moments count, the film never makes the grade. The title prompts great expectations for animal lovers; the result is a bit like a doggie bag with a taste of everything, but not enough of anything
What may catch audiences unawares is how unexpectedly life-affirming this little film about pet death is.
The trailer suggests a cheery comedy but brace yourself for some darkness in this shaggy dog story.
Movies need not always be uplifting. Comedies don't always have to be happy. That said Mike White's Year of the Dog is downright depressing without revealing much of the human condition it strives to.
This is a lovely little film about discovering your inner self, the passion that drives you, and then coming out with it.
Year of the Dog isn't quite the comedy it's been marketed as, but there's still a lot to chew on here, notably Molly Shannon's performance as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Loses its way, as if uncertain how to point out its moral and make us laugh at the same time.
With smashing performances and plenty of heart, it joins Bobcat Goldthwait's recent Sleeping Dogs as a worthy addition to 2007's woof-and-ready hall of fame.
Audience Reviews for Year of the Dog
But, I just don't see the point of the movie. It is agonizingly slow. The people in the movie are shallow. And it drives me crazy that Peggy couldn't see that she could be a dog-loving vegan if she wanted to, but no one can convince the whole world to turn into copies of herself.
Super Reviewer
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- Peggy: This is my love. It is mine, and it fills me and it defines me and it compels me on.
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- Peggy: I've always been disappointed by people. I've only been able to really count on my pets.
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- Layla: Peggy, how are you ever going to find a boyfriend, if you keep shacking up with dogs?
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- Newt: Animals are like us. They live for love.
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- Al: Accidents can happen. That's why I never keep guns in my house.
- Peggy: That's good.
- Al: Just knives.
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- Layla: I believe there is someone on this planet for us all. Even retarded, crippled people get married. You just have to be open.
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In her grief, she meets Newt (Peter Sarsgaard) who works at a pet clinic. He also opens her eyes to an entire world/industry that abuses animals, kills them, and turns them into food. She begins a naiive yet noble campaign to save as many animals as she can and inform as many people as she can about what is being done to many animals in test labs, slaughterhouses, even in the pound.
Director Mike White has a knack for creating oddball characters. They are aplenty here, but it makes the film feel like a Wes Anderson picture, which is never a bad thing. The cinematography by Tim Orr borrows a lot from Anderson, and Jonathan Demme, as characters are framed in the centre speaking directly into the camera. Regardless of the unoriginality, the film works as a strange yet touching comedy.