Old Dogs

There is a peculiar type of comedy usually referred to as the farce. As the name implies the premise of the underlying story is really not required to make a lot of sense, all that is usually needed is some light scaffold to hold the insane antics together in some semblance of continuity. The golden age of this genre was the sixties when notable ‘A’ list actors like Cary Grant and rock Hudson would regularly appear in such movies. Then the genre fell to the youth market with sex and drugs serving to drive the flimsy humor. Lately this type of comedy has been taken over by well known middle age stars most notably John Travolta and Robin Williams. I suppose this is only natural since the audience members that grew up in the sixties and came of age with the high school flicks are now preparing to apply for membership in AARP. It is not uncommon for a flick like the most recent example of this genre ‘Old Dogs’ to find a less than stellar reception with the established critical community. The fact is I do agree that films like this, ‘Old Dog’ included, will never be the object of examination in an university level cinema class but there is also a reason these films continue to get made; sometimes you just need to let go of you adult sensibilities and have some silly fun. Another more practical rational for the near constant flow on these movies is despite the negative reviews the can become a financial success, ‘Old Dogs’ more than made back their budget with a box office gross over $81 million. Perhaps one reason for this is people need a break from televised wars and the global economic collapse. The evening news is outright depressing so there is nothing at all wrong with wanting to watch something puerile, ever foolish. There are plenty of films that offer cinematic excellence but that does not negate the human need to laugh at childish stupidity.

It took the collaboration of two writers to come up with the screenplay for this flick; David Diamond and David Weissman. Both men have worked together before in the also quite silly ‘Evolution’ and slightly more mainstream comedy ‘Family Man’. So far their scripts typically become vehicles for notable dramatic stars branching out into comedy. This script does travel beyond the farce ending up squarely on the line of the absurd. If you have any hope of enjoying this movie it is required that you disengage all high brain functions and disconnect all mental access to rationalization. The intellectual level here hovers somewhere around third grade when the funniest thing possible was that strange kid who would eat a worm for a nickel. Release that inner schoolyard child and relax; you might have more fun than you expect. Since the target audience here is the aging baby boomer the basic theme has to be something identifiable; parenthood.

Charlie Reed (John Travolta) and Dan Rayburn (Robin Williams) are best friends and partners in a successful sports marketing company. Years ago Dan was facing divorce and extremely depressed. Charlie decides that a wild break from life was called for so the pair head off. The meet a couple of pretty women; Vicki (Kelly Preston) and the obsessive compulsive hand model, Jenna (Rita Wilson). Vicki and Dan hit it off resulting in a quickie wedding that ends as suddenly as it began. This seemed all in the past until seven years later Vicki blows back in town announcing that Dan is the father of twins; Zach (Conner Rayburn) and Emily (Ella Bleu Travolta). If you think Emily looks a lot like Travolta and Preston she should, she is their real life kid. When the long arm of the law catches up to Vicki when she is incarcerated for an old protest charge. This leases Dan with a couple of weeks to care for the twins almost immediately after meeting them. As improbable as this scenario may seem it is actually one of the less contrived of the plot devices used in this flick. Dan is desperate to gain the approval of his kids so he recruits his long time friend famous children’s entertainer, Jimmy Lunchbox (Bernie Mac). One goal is to appear bigger than life especially for his new found daughter. Basically from this point on the story becomes surrealistic in how every attempt to bond with the kids becomes a complete misadventure of the incompetent. There is a bout with bad translations and Japanese businessmen and a horribly wrong trip to the zoo that could have been an episode of ‘When animals attack’. Adding to the merriment is a dog’s funeral, talk about something that will bum out the kids.

While the film can be considered a beer and pizza flick but ultimately it is not the best example of what this talented cast is capable of doing. Travolta is proven in drama and comedy but stumbles through this project. It seems that mommy and daddy signed on just to get their daughter her SAG card. Lately Robin Williams has been more successful playing creep murderers than any attempt with comedy. This is a shame since his old comedy specials can still make fall out of my chair laughing but none of his recent comedies come close to this effect. Seth Green has been known to go over the top in movies but in this case the result is lamentable. The director of this flick was Walt Becker who previously helmed the last strange ‘A-List’ romp, "Wild Hogs and the younger targeted ‘Van Wilder’.

Posted 03/04/2010