STRAYS
By Valerie Cameron
Most of us have seen talking dog/buddy movies like Milo & Otis or Cats & Dogs. We sit down with the family on a Friday night with pizza and treats to enjoy the cheesy storyline and usually teary happy ending of a fun-loving dog movie. The lineup is like this, some cute furry friends are on an adventure to or from some place and learn some valuable life lessons along the way. During the adventures some fun hijinks happen, and new friends are made. Well,,,,,Strays has the same movie set up. However, this one is not for kids,
Will Farrell plays a dog named Reggie. Reggie loves his owner Doug (played by Will Forte). Doug is one of the worst humans and dog owners you could think of, but that does not sway Reggie. One day Doug, trying to get rid of Reggie, drops him off in the big city hoping he will never find his way home. This starts the dog/buddy adventure. He meets another dog named Bug, voiced by Jamie Foxx, and Bug proceeds to teach Reggie the ways of the streets. Does some of this sound familiar? Now add in a bunch of foul-mouthed language and poor treatment of animals and you almost get the gist of what this movie is.
I want to say that I am a big fan of Jamie Foxx, Will Farrell and Will Forte. I am also a fan of the movie Cocaine Bear, not so much 21 Jump Street. However, this movie doesn't really hit for me. I do love that the creators took something we love and are familiar with and spun it on its head. I love when ideas, especially nice and tidy ideas are made different and make a bad joke out of it. I love swearing and seeing dogs swear is pretty funny. To me this movie is a long-drawn-out poop joke that your uncle is telling at the family dinner table, that doesnt land. Yes, there are a hand full of times I laughed outload, but mostly it was just ok.
Grade: C-
Rating: R (Drug Use|Crude and Sexual Content|Pervasive Language)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Producer: Erik Feig, Louis Leterrier, Phil Lord, Chris Miller, Aditya Sood, Dan Perrault, Josh Greenbaum
Writer: Dan Perrault
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 18, 2023 Wide
Runtime: 1h 33m
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Rabbit Hole Productions (II), Lord Miller, Universal Pictures, Universal Animation Studios, Gloria Sanchez Productions, Picturestart