2020-2029, Film Review

Strays (2023)

Posted on September 17, 2023September 17, 2023 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

© Universal Pictures, Lord Miller Productions and Rabbit Hole Productions

Strays – Film Review

Cast: Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Brett Gelman, Will Forte

Director: Josh Greenbaum

Synopsis: A stray dog vows revenge on his abusive owner after he is left abandoned…

Review: For thousands of years, dogs have stood faithfully by humanity’s side and have earned the title of “man’s best friend” as a recognition of the mutual love that exists between humans and our canine pals. Anyone who has owned a dog, or indeed, interacted with them, knows how much fun they can be to have as pets. While there’s no question they can be adorable and provide us with memories to last a lifetime, our four-legged friends do have some rather less-than-pleasant tendencies. These tendencies, and the perspective of how dogs see humans and the world around them are, on paper, pedigree material for a raunchy comedy. A comedy which ought to have left audiences howling with laughter, only for it to miss the mark and be about as funny as stepping in dog excrement.

Reggie (Ferrell) is an adorable but naive border terrier who is owned by Doug (Forte). Reggie loves Doug unconditionally and sees him as the perfect owner, but the reality is Doug is a horrid and abusive bottom-of-the-barrel garbage excuse for a human who blames Reggie for his own failings and mistreats his pet in favour of getting high all the time. After Doug abandons Reggie following what the puppy believes to be a game of fetch, Reggie finds company in a gang of other stray dogs who live on the streets to fend for themselves, namely the extremely vulgar Boston Terrier Bug (Foxx), Australian Shepherd Maggie (Fisher) and Great Dane Hunter (Park). Realising all this time that Doug has not been the amazing owner he once thought he was, Reggie vows revenge on Doug and is joined by his newly acquainted group of pooches get back at Doug for the years of neglect and mistreatment.

In the hands of director Josh Greenbaum, whose last film Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar proved to be an idiosyncratic but amusing ride, one would have hoped for a repeat of that success. Unfortunately, Dan Perrault’s screenplay instead relies on low-hanging fruit by using some of the horrid tendencies of our canine pals for vulgar and obscene comedy, which gets very stale very quickly. Yes, dogs like to hump things, it does not need to be turned into a running gag. What’s more, the film spends a substantial amount of its time focused on utterly juvenile jokes concerning bodily fluids, genitals and faeces, and very little time focusing on a plot to make the audience actually care about the quest the dogs are on. There is absolutely a time and a place for such jokes, a dog movie being the perfect example. Still, the script repeats these with such frequency it quickly gets tiresome and makes it feel like it was written not by a professional screenwriter, but instead by a bunch of giggly schoolchildren who fall about in helpless laughter at rude words.

To give the film a tiny morsel of credit, not all the humour is nauseatingly crude, as there is a humorous moment involving the gang of pooches high as kites after they eat a bunch of mushrooms which elicits a chuckle or two. Yet, one mildly amusing scene in a supposed comedy filled with jokes reliant on bodily humour which are devoid of any subtlety or wit, is not enough to redeem the film in the slightest. Even at a mere 93 minutes, the repetitive and unfunny nature of the comedy means the film drags and becomes a chore to sit through, even with some adorable dogs on screen.

What could have been a very witty and clever take on man’s best friend and their relationship with humans proves to be anything but and ends up being a complete waste of its talented voice cast. If it looks like dog poop and smells like dog poop, then it is probably dog poop, and this is one piece of cinematic dog poop you would be well-advised to avoid.

Vulgar for the sake of being vulgar, there is no treat to be found in sitting through this tasteless and unfunny comedy that is all bark and no bite. Man’s best friend deserved better.

2010-2019, Film Review

Booksmart (2019)

Posted on May 12, 2019May 12, 2025 by Martin: Through the Silver Screen

**Image is property of Annapurna Pictures and Gloria Sanchez Productions**

Booksmart – Film Review

Cast: Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever, Jessica Williams, Billie Lourd, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis

Director: Olivia Wilde

Synopsis: Two high school students who’ve shone academically realise they have missed out on some major high school/teenager shenanigans. On the last night before graduation, they decide to go out of high school with a bang…

Review: In many ways, high school/secondary school is the place where we really start to grow up, the place where we slowly start to make that steady transition from childhood to adulthood. We undertake some important exams that can potentially shape the rest of our lives. Whilst simultaneously, it’s a time when we usually start going out, partying and with any luck, making long-lasting friendships and relationships. Some may choose to party too hard, some may get the balance right, and some may work too hard and not party enough.

Best friends Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) are most definitely the latter. They have spent their time very much concentrated on the academic side of high school, with the focus of attaining a place in a top-class college. However, as they prepare to graduate, it dawns on them that their focus on their academic work has been so razor sharp that they have missed out on several years’ worth of partying and letting their hair down. Desperate to rectify this mistake, they realise that they must use the last night before graduation as their chance to cram as much partying and raucous behaviour into one night as they possibly can.

Putting a refreshing and wholly unique take on the high school sex comedy/drama is by no means an easy challenge. However, for her directorial debut, Olivia Wilde does exactly that. Having women front and centre, both in front of and behind the camera, definitely plays a massive part in ensuring this film stands out from the crowd. As the leading ladies, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever both give terrific lead performances. These two bounce off each other’s personalities to wonderful and hilarious effect. Their interaction and chemistry on screen is so warm and fuzzy that they feel like fully fleshed-out people. Right from the moment you meet them, they genuinely feel as though they have been friends for years.

Feldstein, who arguably stole the show with a wonderful comedic performance in Lady Bird, maintains that wonderful level of humour in a role that really gives her the chance to shine. She comes across as a bit aloof and snobby to the other students, but there is a warmth and sincerity to her, as well as a brilliant sense of humour. By contrast, Dever, as Amy, is a much more withdrawn individual. She carefully chooses the right moments, when she is not with Molly, to come out of her shell. Both have rich layers to them, so much so that there will almost certainly be people out there who will relate to them in some capacity, whether it be the desire to place emphasis on those hours of studying or being slightly withdrawn when it comes to social interaction, or perhaps even both.

**Look at these pesky up-to-no-good troublemakers….**

Alongside Wilde in the director’s chair, the film’s female team of writers (Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel & Katie Silberman) pen a fantastically witty script full of some downright hilarious and truly brilliant jokes. There are one or two jokes that don’t quite hit their mark, but the rest are just fantastic and extremely unique in terms of the delivery and the punchlines. Try as we might, those high school years are not a constant barrel of laughs, there will be times when some drama unfolds. Wilde’s excellent direction and the sincere performances from every member of this cast ensure that this is captured in such an honest and authentic manner. It just goes to show that when you do your homework, as the cast and crew most certainly did, it will pay tremendous dividends. Top marks all around.