Directed by Josh Greenbaum
Starring the voices of Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Randall Park, and Isla Fisher

Let me begin by introducing you to Hugo (pictured below). Hugo is a two and a half year old Dachshund who lives very happily with me and my husband. Like the central canine character in new comedy Strays, Hugo also has a tennis ball he’s very fond of playing fetch with (also shown in the picture below). He also loves to eat (what dog doesn’t, right?), is a serial face-licker (dogs and humans who let him!) and much to our amusement, Hugo also watches TV and barks his head off at any dog that appears on screen!

Admittedly, this genre of film specifically from the United States is among my least favourites and so my expectations are almost always low. That’s not such a bad thing when genuinely hilarious surprises such as Blockers and Ted come along. Nevertheless, as I do in all films, I arrived at my Strays screening with an open mind and high hopes that it would be passable enough to someday sit through a second viewing in Hugo’s barking mad company. After all, director Josh Greenbaum’s previous film, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, is one of the most memorable, laugh-out-loud, and oddest comedy gems I’ve seen of late. Well folks, the only surprise this comedy had in store is just how sad it both is and made me feel!

This unwelcome sentiment will almost certainly be shared by any dog lover and/or owner during the ominous opening sequence that serves as a damning sign of what’s to come. A young border terrier by the name of Reggie (his abusive owner has a myriad of other M rated names for him) gets dumped by his stoner daddy for the umpteenth time while believing they were playing fetch. Struggling to accept the labelling of stray, Reggie meets other stray dogs; a street savvy Boston terrier named Bug, the beautiful Australian Shepherd, Maggie, and therapy dog Great Dane, Hunter. Together, they make a pact to exact vengeance on Reggie’s owner.

I accept that not everyone is a dog person, but for those that are, there is so much to love about them. Their unconditional and unwavering love for their human companions. Their loyalty. Their ability to adapt, be trained and their obedience. Their comforting companionship, just to name a few. Then there is the unique personality each person’s dog forms and certain quirks they pick-up, just like my Hugo’s vocal TV viewing. While Strays acknowledges those aforementioned inherent attributes, its attempts to playfully toy around with dogs just simply being dogs is kept on a strictly low-brow and highly repetitive leash. An inexplicably thin narrative framework sees it rehashing what is ostensibly a shortlist of the top gags to make some unremarkable final cut. I am not exaggerating when I say at least 75% of Stray’s humour is centred on dog penis, humping, and dog piss & poop. It’s difficult to perceive the writing any way other than simply lazy and infantile. The shenanigans these strays get up to between discovering each other and arriving at Reggie’s home barely generate laughter or register any interest. I mean, heck, could they not even at least hired Morgan Freeman to voice the narrating Labrador!? With four individual breeds of dog at the centre of this film for most its duration, there was more than enough opportunity to derive uniqueness from their initial characterisation and form a more engaging story.

The absolute best I can say of this mostly terrible film is it might be mildly passable for its target audience. Oh, and an extra half star has been taken off for being a dog movie without a sausage dog!

Strays is showing in cinemas across Australia from August 17th.

Moviedoc thanks Universal Pictures for the invite to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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