There is something about a family film that centers on children and an animal. An old adage for those working on stage and screen is never work with kids and animals; they are sure to steal the show and are difficult to manage. This has to be among the most ignored advice in the film industry mostly because a flick with these characteristics is certain to gain some sort of audience. A predominate number of such movies usually use a dog as the central character. Having lived with both dogs and cats personal experience tells me that dogs are easier to train and thereby preferred by the bottom line oriented studios. Besides, dogs are all American, even if most breeds came from other countries. There has been a long list of famous dogs in Hollywood such as Lassie and the noble Rin Tin Tin. With their films action was the general direction. For the family comedy dogs usually are shown as the loveable trouble makers. The adults are constantly vexed by the animal; the kids love them and ultimately they save the day. One of the latest in this long line of films in this very specific genre is ‘Frank’. Here a family winds up with a slobbering, oversized dog who manages to become part of the family. I enjoyed this film the first time I watched it in 1992 when it was called ‘Beethoven’. To be fair the film ‘Frank’ is not exactly the same as ‘Beethoven’ but there are more than enough similarities to warrant the comparison. Still, the ‘Beethoven’ franchise resulted in four sequels and remained very popular. It also has to be noted that the first of those movies was sixteen years ago. There is a whole new generation unaware of those flicks. Most importantly this is a classic story and every generation deserves to reinvent it and make it their own. That is the mindset required for adults watching this. Forget the comparisons and take this film on its own merits. It certainly has its faults but as a kid’s flick is it more important to see if it works for the target audience not adult criteria. In this the movie is entertaining. It is a solid family flick that will engage all ages; not great but certainly fun.

The story for the film comes from Robin Bradford. This is her first screenplay but apparently she is a well respected and award winning author. Much of that work was with essays so she is accustomed to writing in her own voice. This is a very good first script and it does the job it sets out to do; entertain. The story features a father who is wound far too tight; a faithful wife and two children. Of course the teenaged girl thinks her parents, dad in particular, is always wrong. She also sees her brother as a little brat. This is a stereotypical viewpoint that since it is often based in reality is used because it works for films like this. Bradford allows her story to grow organically. In the first act she introduces the family to the audience. Each character is fairly well drawn and understandable. By the time the dog, the titular Frank, is introduced we know before the first inevitable mishap that mayhem is about to ensue. Since the plot is so predictable Bradford had to do some extra work to keep the audience interested. She does so by giving some novel twists to the situations.

Directing this movie is another relative novice, Douglas Cheney. He had several credits for the web based soap opera ‘Sam Has 7 Friends’. He not only directed that but also worked jobs ranging from producer to gaffer on the project. This shows that Cheney has the willingness to dive into all aspects of the film making process. I have t admire the determination of a person like this who loves the art of cinema so much that he is willing to do any job to be in it. It also affords him a better sense of film making from a practical sense. In this movie he takes on the eternal difficulty of the family film. You have to delight the kids without leaving the adults bored to tears. He does so here by cutting between the parents and the kids in the flick. There is a little bit of something for everyone. He also paints a picture of the father as obsessive but also a man who loves his family and wants to provide for them the best he can. To him that means attention to detail and precision. When Frank comes into the picture the carpet is pulled out from under him but he is finally able to adjust to a new world view. Cheney doesn’t go heavy on the exposition. The story is self explanatory so his focus is in just setting up the events and letting them unfold.

The York family is like millions of other upper middle class families in the nation. Colin (Jon Gries), the dad is fairly successful. His wife Jennifer (Cynthia Watros) does her best to keep their home in order. They have two children, teenager Anna (Brittany Robertson) and her six year old brother Patrick (Ashton Dierks). Colin is, shall we say, wrapped far too tightly. He is a perfectionist and definitely has a touch of obsessive compulsion disorder. He wants everything in its place and a place for everything. It is coming up on summer time and it happens that Jennifer has inherited her family’s summer home near the beach. Jennifer and Colin decide that it would fun to have a family vacation. This is not a decision that goes well with Anna. She is reluctant to leave her friends for the summer. Her opinion begins to change to a large degree once she gets a load of a boy who lives near the summer home, Sean (Brian Burnet). She begins to feel that his hunky boy just might make the summer worth while. Once they get their and begin to settle in there is something in the local news that causes some concern. There are reports that an animal from a traveling circus has gotten out. No one has really seen the creature but there is evidence that it has disrupted backyards in the area. Jennifer and Colin have their hands keeping track of the kids. The creature finally makes his appearance and it is not some huge dangerous creature but a huge, mangy mutt of a dog. Colin can’t stand the animal; it is messy and a constant fountain of drool. Colin is about to give a major presentation at work; opens his laptop to find it dripping in thick, viscous slobber. The wife and kids have fallen in love with the dog, named him Frank and want to keep him. There is the usual amount of slapstick and sight gags and of course Franks ultimately saves the day.

This film is released to DVD by First Look Home Entertainment and they do their typical great job of mastering. It is a plain vanilla presentation with no extras. This is a fun family flick that would be great on a rainy afternoon for the whole family to enjoy together.