| Film Review | “Babblin” Bobby Blakey |
The
Shaggy Dog (2006)
Tim Allen
Kristin Davis
Danny Glover
Robert Downey Jr.
Zena Grey
Spencer Breslin
Directed by Brian Robbins
Plot: Tim Allen transforms from family dad to family
dog and back again in this update of the Disney comedy. It
all begins when workaholic Deputy D.A. Dave Douglas (Allen)
takes on a case involving an animal laboratory -- one that
will take him away yet again from his wife (Kristin Davis)
and kids (Zena Grey and Spencer Breslin), who already yearn
for his all-too-distracted attention. But when Dave is
accidentally infected with a top-secret, genetic-mutation
serum, everything he thought he knew about being himself and
his family changes. Yet with his newly perked-up ears, and
his front-row seat on the household carpet, Dave is able to
gain a whole new perspective into his family's secrets and
dreams. Now, he wants nothing more than to stop fetching and
return to fathering -- only first he'll have to stop the
evil forces behind the serum.
Review: I was a big fan of Home Improvement and think
Tim Allen is a great comedic actor. Apparently, he has
become Disney’s golden boy and I think it’s cool. I like the
Santa Claus films and absolutely loved Galaxy Quest. That
being said, I looked forward to seeing The Shaggy Dog.
The film is a good family comedy, but falls short on the
real laughs. By no means is this a bad movie, but I was
somewhat disappointed. Tim Allen was in top form and played
his part well, but it just didn’t work for me. The story is,
of course, unbelievable, which it’s supposed to be, but just
seems to be missing something. Again, it’s not bad, but
falls short. One of the highlights of the film was Robert
Downey Jr. Ever since I saw him in the pre-drug days
Chaplin, I thought he was a brilliant actor. He plays a
great eccentric villain, who I feel steals the scenes he is
in. The effects are decent and I have to admit I found the
animal co-stars to be entertaining. Overall it’s another
good Disney film, but I felt it didn’t live up to the
original or to what it could have been.
