‘No begging for food, no sniffing of crotches, and you will not drink from my toilet…’
In the pantheon of cinematic dogs, Hooch sits somewhere between Beethoven and Cujo. He’s more of a lunatic than the former but not as murderous as the latter. Everyone loves dogs, of course. And everyone loves Tom Hanks. A combination of the two is surely always going to be a winner.
Scott Turner (Hanks) is two days from leaving his job as a detective when he gets wrapped up in a murder case. For reasons that are never really clear, he also adopts an insane 110-pound Dogue De Bordeaux to help him solve the case. There are other people involved also. Craig T. Nelson is knocking about as the chief of police, as is Reginald VelJohnson as Turner’s potential replacement and Mare Winningham as a vet and love interest, but really, we know why we’re here. We’re here to see Tom Hanks and massive dog get up to some serious hijinks, and on that front, Turner & Hooch doesn’t disappoint.
Whilst the b plots don’t add much to the proceedings, Hanks is hilarious and shares a wonderful chemistry with the massive dog, despite the fact he is constantly drooling and eating stuff he shouldn’t be eating. The dog that is, not Tom Hanks. And in the end ***spoilers*** Hooch sacrifices himself so that others can live. Very much like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is a good dog. Hooch that is, not our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Turner & Hooch is a great nostalgia fest for anyone interested in Tom Hanks. Or massive dogs. Or both!