‘Thanks for saving my life…’
Cinema needn’t be complicated. Sometimes all you need is Channing Tatum running around with a lovely dog and that’s all this film is. The simplicity of the concept is reflected in the title. Dog. Sometimes dog is enough…
Briggs (Tatum) is tasked with transporting a military dog to the funeral of his owner. The issue is that the dog is an absolute maniac. And that’s pretty much it in terms of plot. Tatum also directs alongside Reid Carolin (who shares a writing credit with Brett Rodriguez) and the two directors make the wise decision to keep things simple.
The first thing to note is that while Dog has funny moments, this is not Beethoven. Dog explores issues such as drug addiction, patriotism and the treatment of former soldiers, but crucially it does so with a soft touch, always ensuring to keep Tatum and his dog front and centre. This results in a film that is slight in terms of plot but one that has a big heart. Tatum is excellent in a role that requires him to share much of his dialogue and screen time with an animal, and the dog itself (played with gusto by a trio of identical Belgian malinois dogs) is both beautiful and a good boy. Thrown in a terrific cameo from Bill Burr as an asshole cop and you are left with a film that is uncomplicated but very enjoyable.
Dog follows a long tradition of gruff men having to make friends with a difficult animal companion, and Tatum’s film goes right to the top of the list on that front. A quietly excellent film.