Susan Granger’s review of “Dog” (M.G.M./Warner Bros.)
Older moviegoers have had fewer and fewer choices these days. So let me bring Channing Tatum’s heartfelt “Dog” to your attention.
“Dog” is a buddy dramedy that follows the misadventures of two ‘broken’ former U.S. Army Rangers, paired against their will, on a Pacific Coast road trip that ignites the ‘healing’ process for both.
While Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) is eagerly awaiting his next overseas deployment somewhere in the Northwest, he is ordered to report to Fort Lewis to pick up an unruly Belgian Malinois named Lulu and deliver her to her former handler’s funeral in Nogales, Arizona.
So these two bruised and battered survivors of numerous tours in Iraq and Afghanistan are reluctantly stuck together in Briggs’ 1984 Ford Bronco for the 1,600-mile trip. Despite his adamant denials, Briggs still suffers from brain injuries, while PTSD-scarred Lulu has also been severely traumatized,
Along the way, they seek shelter in a metal barn during a thunderstorm and are attacked by a demented cannabis farmer (Kevin Nash) and his psychic wife (Jane Adams). In San Francisco, they’re arrested when Briggs pretends to be blind to score a free hotel room. But then when thieves steal Briggs’ belongings, Lulu is able to track them down.
Working from an episodic screenplay by Reid Carolin and Brett Rodriguez, debuting directors Carolin and Channing Tatum managed to wrangle three well-trained canines – Britta, Lana and Zuza – to play Lulu.
Although they look like German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois are considered a breed better suited to police/military work. Previously, Carolin and Tatum served as executive producers on a 2017 HBO documentary “War Dog: A Soldier’s Best Friend.”
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Dog” is a sentimental 7, available on Blu-ray and DVD, plus streaming on Prime Video, Apple TV and Vudu.
