(2007, 98 min) Year of the Dog opens on a field of frolicking puppies, then shows the dogs' humans circling the activity. Most of the humans are chatting among themselves, but Peggy (Molly Shannon) has eyes only for her beloved, adorable beagle Pencil.
Peggy holds a generic job in a sterile office. She comforts her pedestrian boss as he suffers the slights of banal office politics. She's a sounding board for her workplace best friend. She babysits her brother's children and takes well-meaning advice from him and his wife. She's there for everyone, and Pencil is there for her: Pencil is her emotional core. When Pencil dies, Peggy’s grief is overwhelming, leading to breakdown and collapse. At one point, she takes in 15 shelter dogs to save them from being put down. She works through the void made visible by Pencil's death to eventually achieve a resolution to her personal crisis and a new direction for her life.
While the movie purports to show a "journey of personal transformation," as expressed in the press blurbs, it instead shows mental breakdown and tenuous recovery. First-time director Mike White falters in the promise shown in his scripts for The Good Girl and School of Rock. Maybe the static camera and one-note performances were meant to show the 2-dimensional quality of Peggy's pre-satori life, but the work succeeds only in coming in second to a good "Afterschool Special." With unrelenting earnestness and ensemble support from the likes of John C. Reilly and Laura Dern, Year of the Dog was clearly intended as a message film extolling animal rights and the healing power of furry friends. It falls short.
© TLA Entertainment Group
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