DOG : Tuesday 22nd March 2022.

'DOG', which I saw at my local independent movie theatre this week, is an M Rated American comedy drama film, and is Directed and Co-Produced by Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin with the latter also having story and screenplay credits, and with both making their directorial debuts. The film was originally slated for its release in the US in mid-February 2021 but was pushed back to mid-July, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then pushed back again to 18th February 2022 in the US and to last week in Australia. The film has garnered positive critical reviews and has so far grossed US$66M off the back of a US$15M production budget. 

The film opens up with Jackson Briggs (Channing Tatum) wielding an axe down on logs for firewood in his snow covered cabin somewhere in the hills beyond Washington. He receives a call and suddenly his mood changes. Next up he is seen at a bar with other Army Rangers officers celebrating the life of a fellow soldier who has suddenly passed away. After an evening on the turps, Briggs asks Officer Jones (Luke Forbes) for his sign off to be readmitted to the Army Rangers following being medically discharged some time ago. Briggs is desperate to get back to active duty and to do what he does best, but has been turned down several times already, needing sign off from an Officer, all of whom seem reluctant to give. 

Finally, Officer Jones hauls Briggs out of the back of his old Ford Bronco truck where he crashed out the night before, saying that he will authorise Briggs reinstatement if he agrees to perform one important task. That task is to deliver an Army dog, named Lulu, a Belgian Malinois, down the Pacific Coast from Joint Base Lewis–McChord in Washington to Nogales, Arizona in time to attend her handler's funeral. This he must do without any upset, mistakes or trouble along the way, the dog must be delivered safe and healthy, and he must be on time. Otherwise, no reinstatement! The only issue is, is that Lulu has become so traumatised by her active service in the Army Rangers battle zones, that no one dare go near her - as she has already hospitalised three men and is now deemed to be unsalvageable, and for the journey she is to be kept muzzled, on a leash, and following the funeral put-down. 

Reluctantly Briggs agrees, after all he will do almost anything to get back into the Army Rangers. Following further advice not to let Lulu near any one else, or another animal, and to not touch her ears Briggs and his canine companion begin their 1700 mile journey due south in Briggs 1984 Ford Bronco. 

Of course, the journey down to Arizona via Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles does not go without its fair share of upset, mistakes and trouble along the way. This includes a brief soujourn at a gun club in which Briggs practices his pistol shooting skills while Lulu breaks out of her cage and sets about ripping the trucks seat upholstery to pieces. Then in Portland, Briggs heads to a bar where he has several unsuccessful attempts to pick up women, but then when he thinks he has struck pay dirt with two likely girls who practice tantra the possibility of an evening of pleasure is interrupted by a guy outside trying to quiet Lulu's incessant barking down, and who ultimately throws a rock smashing the back window of the truck. When Lulu jumps through the window and attacks the rock throwing assailant, the girls quickly disappear back inside their house wanting nothing more to do with Briggs. 

Then in San Francisco, Briggs decides he has a plan to stay in a lavish hotel for the night so that Lulu can sleep on a comfortable bed. Briggs decides to act as a blind ex-serviceman and so is granted a penthouse suite at no cost. After settling in, sharing a bath together, ordering room service, Briggs is all suited and booted for a night on the town, and leaves Lulu behind, but Lulu wants to tag along. In the hotel lobby, Lulu charges of her leash with Briggs giving chase, and attacks a man wearing Middle Eastern robes. After the francas Briggs promptly announces in the lobby now packed full of onlookers that all of a sudden he can see! He is promptly arrested and the dog impounded, with no resolution in sight until Monday, and the funeral is on Sunday. Briggs comes clean about his rouse, offers to confess, but states he needs to be somewhere very important by Sunday with the dog, at which point he is let off the hook and allowed to continue with his journey. 

In Los Angeles, Briggs visits his former wife Niki (Q'orianka Kilcher) and his three years old daughter Sam whom he is estranged from. Needless to say that visit does not go well. He then visits Lulu's brother Duke, who had been adopted by another former Army Ranger Noah (Ethan Suplee) who has spent the last six months retraining Duke in how to adapt to humans. Noah gives Briggs some insight into how he can retrain Lulu. When its time to leave, Briggs discovers that his truck has been broken into and all of the possessions belonging to his former colleague Rodriguez have been stolen, including his jacket, his back pack and most importantly his field diary detailing his exploits with Lulu in the field. Noah, Briggs, Lulu and Duke all go on the hunt for the perpetrator with the dogs sniffing out the scent from the dog tags as worn by Rodriguez. They catch up with the thief who is living under a bridge and who claims that he is a war vet and that the possessions are his, but Briggs quickly puts him in his place. 

Continuing their journey south on the wide open road, at night and in the pouring rain, the Ford Bronco blows a gasket and Briggs and Lulu have to abandon the truck and walk. They find an old barn and take shelter there for the night while the rain lashes down with thunder claps and lighting strikes all around them, which unsettles Lulu. At sun up the next morning, the pair head off with Briggs having to physically carry Lulu on his back, because the dog is too exhausted to continue walking. They reach the funeral, as it has already begun. Lulu who is kept on a leash is released and she goes and rests her head on Rodriguez's boots as his coffin is laid to rest with full military honours.

That night, laid up in some cheap motel, Briggs wakes, stumbles into the bathroom and has a seizure. Lulu looks on with doleful eyes. Briggs in time comes round and crawls out of the bathroom eventually falling asleep on the floor, with Lulu resting her head on his chest. The next morning with the truck now repaired, Briggs arrives at the local Army base to hand Lulu over to be put down. He hands her over with a heavy heart having called Officer Jones saying that she has changed and that he should think again about having her put down. But Jones is steadfast. Briggs drives out of the base but in his rear view mirror sees that Lulu is rebelling against her new captors. He halts the Bronco, reverses, collects the dog, and drives out of there. 

'Dog' is a fairly predictable tale of one man's and one canine's road to redemption having both suffered at the hands of PTSD, suicide and both the physical and emotional scars of war. Channing Tatum portrays the lost and wounded former soldier keen to get back into the ranks with his colleagues very well with the emotional heft, the light hearted dialogue and the humorous quips that make his performance all the more realistic, rather than playing this just for laughs and downgrading the film into the realms of kid friendly fare, which this film definitely is not. For first time Directors and Writer Carolin, the pair have proven their ability to deliver a film with a message of overcoming adversity, man and animal bonding all wrapped up in a buddy road trip movie that is a heartwarming crowd pleaser. 

'Dog' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard out of a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-