#10: DOG

Written by Reid Caroline. Directed and starring Channing Tatum, also starring Ethan Suplee, Jane Adams and Kevin Nash. Running time 101 minutes. Budget $15 million.

The plot sees decorated and wounded U.S. Army Ranger Briggs desperate to be signed off well enough to fight for a private security firm, but to do this he needs his old CO to sign him off. However his Captain won't unless Briggs agrees to transport a PTSD suffering combat dog, called Lulu, across America to the funeral of her dead handler and Briggs' old army buddy. 

Along the way the two damaged souls bond and heal each other, and give each other the chance of a new life.

Warm and heart-felt, without feeling overly sentimental or mawkish, the road trip plot gives our two very loveable characters a series of minor adventures and encounters to bond and heal over. Channing Tatum directs with competence and the performances are all good, particularly in a scene with Jane Adams and Kevin Nash as a couple of married cannabis farmers, which is perhaps the funniest scene of the film, far funnier than the hotel scene, heavily shown in the trailer.

Interestingly, the dog, played by four different animals is presented as a real dog, and not the usual cinematic dog we're used to, the sort with a wisdom and intelligence that seems almost human. In stead we're given an animal that seems all too dog-like in its attitude and interaction with Briggs. Lulu conveys the sense that she too has been deeply traumatised by her war experiences, and the scene at her dead master's funeral is a real tear jerker. 

There's also a sense of shock when you learn what these combat dogs go through that seems all too tragic, and yet the bond they form with their human handlers is profoundly moving and deep. 

It's not all good, there's a moderate chase midway through the movie, which feels a little too much like an excuse for some action, with a payoff that just gives the film a chance to show a alternative outcome for Briggs, had life has played out differently. And there's an almost montage sequence where Briggs encounters a variety of liberal millennials who all react badly to his more horny gung-ho attitudes.  

While the trailer would have you think this is more comedy than drama, I found it far more emotional than funny. And perhaps because I'm a dog owner, I enjoyed it and felt quite moved by the time the all-too obvious ending arrived.

Overall, it left me feeling warm and fuzzy inside.  

7/10