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Old Dogs (film)

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Old Dogs
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWalt Becker
Written byDavid Diamond
David Weissman
Produced byAndrew Panay
Peter Abrams
Robert Levy
StarringJohn Travolta
Robin Williams
Kelly Preston
Justin Long
Seth Green
with Bernie Mac
and Matt Dillon
CinematographyJeffrey L. Kimball
Edited byRyan Folsey
Tom Lewis
Music byJohn Debney
Distributed byWalt Disney Pictures
Release date
November 25, 2009
Running time
88 minutes
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
Budget$35 million

Old Dogs is a Template:Fy American comedy film directed by Wild Hogs's Walt Becker and starring John Travolta and Robin Williams with supporting roles played by Kelly Preston, Matt Dillon, Justin Long, Seth Green, Rita Wilson, Dax Shepard and Bernie Mac. It was released on November 25, 2009.[1]

Old Dogs received poor reception from film critics. The Orlando Sentinel called the film "badly written and broadly acted".[2] The Chicago Daily Herald said the film "should be put out of our misery".[3] The San Jose Mercury News and The Boston Globe both described the film as a "turkey".[4][5] Reviews in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and AV Club said the movie was not recommended for adults or children.[1][6]

Plot

Charlie (John Travolta) and Dan (Robin Williams) are best friends and co-workers who have no clue about the importance of family or what life is truly about. Dan's ex-wife, Vicki (Kelly Preston), shows up after a long period of time and reveals that she and Dan have seven-year-old twins: a son and a daughter. Dan recruits Charlie and together they take care of the twins and a dog. With help from a co-worker friend named Ralph (Seth Green), they go from outdoor activities with the kids and a rough instructor (Matt Dillon), to enduring mix-ups of medicine and even a flamboyant children's entertainer (Bernie Mac), and eventually they will learn the true meaning of life and family.

Cast

Critical reception

The film received extremely negative reviews, and has a 8% "rotten" rating based on aggregated reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.[7] At Metacritic, Old Dogs received an aggregated rating of 23, "Generally unfavorable reviews".[8] Film critic Roger Ebert gave Old Dogs a rating of one star out of a possible four.[9] Ebert opened his review commenting, "'Old Dogs' is stupefying dimwitted. What were John Travolta and Robin Williams thinking of? Apparently their agents weren't perceptive enough to smell the screenplay in its advanced state of decomposition".[9] The Salt Lake Tribune gave Old Dogs a rating of zero stars out of a possible four, and criticized the film for "hammy acting and sledgehammer editing".[10] Film critic Roger Moore of The Orlando Sentinel gave Old Dogs a rating of one and a half stars out of a possible four.[2] "Trashing Old Dogs is a bit like kicking a puppy. But here goes. The new comedy from some of the folks who brought us Wild Hogs is badly written and broadly acted, shamelessly manipulative and not above stopping by the toilet for a laugh or two," wrote Moore.[2] Bill Goodykoontz of The Star Press gave the film a critical review, and commented, "'Old Dogs,' which stars Robin Williams and John Travolta as a couple of aging bachelors who suddenly have twins thrust upon them, delivers everything you’d expect. Which is: not much."[11] He concluded his review with, "Let’s hope Williams, Travolta and the rest got a fabulous payday for “Old Dogs.” Because otherwise, you know, woof."[11] In a review for The Arizona Republic, Goodykoontz gave the film a rating of one and a half stars out of a possible five.[12] Writing for the San Jose Mercury News in an analysis of movies that were released around Thanksgiving, Randy Myers placed Old Dogs below "The Scraps: Leftovers that should be immediately placed in Fido's bowl."[4] Myers commented, "We have a winner in the Thanskgiving movie turkey contest."[4] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote, "Too bad this shrilly tuned comedy doesn't demand more than clock-punching effort from everyone involved."[13]

"'Old Dogs' is stupefying dimwitted. What were John Travolta and Robin Williams thinking of? Apparently their agents weren't perceptive enough to smell the screenplay in its advanced state of decomposition"

 —Roger Ebert
[9]

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter summed up his review with, "Bottom Line: Insipid, predictable, broad comedy mixed with Disney Family Values makes for one exasperating sit."[14] Honeycutt called the film "a dumb male movie", and concluded, "'Old Dogs' gives men a bad name."[14] Duane Dudek of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gave the film a rating of one and a half stars.[1] Dudek did not recommend the movie to parents or to children, commenting, "'Old Dogs' is not your father's Disney movie. And, maybe, despite the PG rating, not your kids' either. The movie, opening in theaters Wednesday, has lots of rough edges unsuitable for little tykes."[1] He concluded that the film, "has no new tricks, only preposterous story lines."[1] Film critic Joe Williams of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, "There are no new tricks in 'Old Dogs,' a cheesy chew-toy of a comedy about reluctant fatherhood."[15] Williams gave the film a rating of one and a half stars, and concluded, "After it’s exhausted every other gimmick, the movie tries to win our hearts. But 'Old Dogs' is so oafish, when it tosses us a biscuit, it feels like we've been smacked with a newspaper."[15] Mary Pols of MSN Movies gave the film a rating of zero stars out of a possible five.[16] Pols wrote that the jokes in the film were not appropriate for children, commenting, "It's not just that the jokes are tasteless and inappropriate for children. They aren't even a little bit funny."[16] Dann Gire of the Chicago Daily Herald reviewed the film and concluded, "Like real old dogs, this movie should be put out of our misery."[3] Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald review the film and gave it a rating of two stars.[17] Rodriguez characterized the film as a "disposable but inoffensive picture".[17] Writing for Metromix, Matt Pais described Old Dogs as "A great opportunity to gather family members you clearly think are stupid."[18] Pais commented on the acting in the film, "The verdict: All of the actors involved (including Matt Dillon, Justin Long, Ann-Margaret and Paolo Costanzo) seem to have collectively placed their sense of self-respect in a bag and tossed it in the toilet. Yet the biggest culprits are Williams and Travolta, who are now so devoid of comic instincts that Becker must rely on reaction shots from Charlie's dog to show that someone is actually trying."[18]

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film a rating of one star.[19] "'Wild Hogs,' 'Old Dogs' — what’s next, 'Bumps on Logs'? Truly, I would rather watch John Travolta and Robin Williams sitting on a tree trunk, doing nothing, than endure their best efforts to energize this ol’ hound," wrote Phillips.[19] He concluded, "The labored premise of this setup is not worth the effort — it’s sort of icky both as humor and as pathos. Good will generated by familiar faces cannot overcome all obstacles."[19] Writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Carrie Rickey gave the film a rating of two and a half stars out of four.[20] Rickey commented of the multiple cameos in the film, "A child of 5 can see that these brief appearances serve to pad a gauze-thin script."[20] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe was critical of the film, and also called it a "turkey".[5] Burr said of Disney's decision to produce the film, "If they had any respect for audiences, they might never have released it at all."[5] John Hazelton of Screen International observed, "the supposedly touching moments often feel manufactured".[21] Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film a grade of "F" in her review for Entertainment Weekly.[22] Filmcritic.com reviewer Alexander Zalben gave the film a rating of one star out of a possible five.[23] Keith Phipps of AV Club called the film "insulting" to children.[6] Phipps did not recommend the film for either children or adults, concluding, "Adults should steer clear. Kids should be sent to it only if they’ve been extraordinarily naughty."[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Dudek, Duane (November 24, 2009). "'Old Dogs' digs up a tired plot that should have stayed buried". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Moore, Roger (November 23, 2009). "Movie Review: Old Dogs, no new tricks". Movies with Roger Moore. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ a b Gire, Dann (November 24, 2009). "Shallow 'Old Dogs' lacks emotional bite". Chicago Daily Herald. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ a b c Myers, Randy (November 24, 2009). "Thanksgiving Movie Guide: From the main courses to the doggie scraps". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ a b c Burr, Ty (November 24, 2009). "'Old Dogs' lacks plot, purpose". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ a b c Phipps, Keith (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs". AV Club. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ "Old Dogs (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  8. ^ "Old Dogs". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  9. ^ a b c Ebert, Roger (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs". RogerEbert.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-11-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ The Salt Lake Tribune staff (November 24, 2009). "5-minute movie reviews: 'Old Dogs,' 'Ninja Assassin'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ a b Goodykoontz, Bill (November 23, 2009). "REVIEW" 'Old Dogs' could use new tricks". The Star Press. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Goodykoontz, Bill (November 24, 2009). "'Old Dogs'". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Harvey, Dennis (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs". Variety. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ a b Honeycutt, Kirk (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs -- Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ a b Williams, Joe (November 24, 2009). "'Old Dogs' *1/2". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ a b Pols, Mary (November 24, 2009). "Put These 'Dogs' Down". MSN Movies. Microsoft. Retrieved 2009-11-25. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ a b Rodridguez, Rene (November 24, 2009). "Movies: Review / Old Dogs (PG) ** - No new tricks in this family comedy". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ a b Pais, Matt (November 24, 2009). "'Old Dogs' review - A great opportunity to gather family members you clearly think are stupid". Metromix. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ a b c Phillips, Michael (November 24, 2009). "'Old Dogs' -- 1 star". Talking Pictures. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ a b Rickey, Carrie (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  21. ^ Hazelton, John (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs". Screen International. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  22. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  23. ^ Zalben, Alexander (November 24, 2009). "Old Dogs Movie Review". Filmcritic.com. Retrieved 2009-11-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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