STRAYS - Mark Reviews Movies

Strays, Universal Pictures

Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Become a Patron

Review by Mark Dujsik | August 17, 2023

At first, it's kind of amusing to see cute talking dogs, such as the ones that might appear in some family-friendly movie, speak about things that definitely wouldn't be brought up in a piece of wholesome family entertainment. That's the primary joke of Strays, which means it's the main one, as well as pretty much the only one, in a movie that quickly bleeds its one gag dry.

The main problem, perhaps, is that Dan Perrault's screenplay isn't actually a satire or broad parody of the genre it's targeting with its foul-mouthed, overly sexual, and urine-and-feces-obsessed pooches. There are maybe two or three digs at movies about talking animals on big adventures or learning important lessons about life, and only one of them is specific enough to stick out a genuinely ingenious. Those who have watched some of the more popular examples of this niche genre will know it when they see—or, better, hear—it, but that exception certainly doesn't compensate for how lazy the humor is through the rest of the movie.

The setup is fairly clever, in that it gives us a very adorable dog named Reggie, whose inner monologue and, later, actual dialogue are provided by a cheerfully innocent Will Ferrell. The central twist of the opening section is that, unlike so many movie dogs whose inner thoughts about life as a pet are deemed worthy of hearing, Reggie's owner is a jerk.

Doug (Will Forte) is a contemptible man in general, cheating on his girlfriend and basically existing as a perennial loser, and specifically toward the little dog. He shoves the canine around, calls it every name except "good boy," is neglectful of its basic needs, and only keeps it around out of spite. After all, Doug's girlfriend leaves him after Reggie brings out another woman's underwear, thinking the intimate clothing is a toy, and because the ex likes the dog so much, Doug likes the idea of keeping her from having Reggie even more.

There's probably a fine idea in this premise, although it would be quite the uncomfortable one, too, because there also, probably, aren't good gags to be found in the notion of animal abuse—no matter how overtly pathetic and detestable the abuser the might be. The real story begins after Doug has had enough of Reggie and decides to leave the countryside to abandon the dog in the big city.

Alone and afraid but still determined to return home to the man he loves, Reggie makes some other canine friends and learns the benefits of being a stray. After realizing that Doug is unworthy of his loyalty, decides to get revenge on the very bad human.

It's another decent idea, especially considering that the movie establishes such a gruesome form of vengeance on an unapologetically hateful guy like Doug. The payoff to that promise is one of the successful jokes here, although the process of getting to the punch line is mostly a chore.

The movie's one joke continues by way of Bug (voice of Jamie Foxx), a longtime stray that puts on a tough act and swears a lot to compensate for its tiny stature. Bug, along with his housebound pals Maggie (voice of Isla Fisher) and Hunter (voice of Randall Park), convinces Reggie to forget Doug, but as soon as our canine hero comes up with the idea to rob his former owner of his favorite anatomical "toy," the other dogs are more than happy to help Reggie find his way home for revenge.

As for the rest of the jokes and plotting of director Josh Greenbaum's movie, both categories are predictable. We get a number of pseudo-puns, a lot of bits about the dogs peeing on things and each other, plenty of humping humor, and a running gag about the relative size of Hunter's genitalia.

Yes, most of the jokes are repetitive, too, but the filmmakers have nabbed two of the stars of a recent pair of talking-dog movies for a couple of throwaway bits. One of them, involving the in-person star, is completely disposable. The other, revolving around the voice of the other actor, is so spot-on and subversive that one wonders if Perrault was having an uncharacteristically good writing hour or if the actor improvised the best joke here.

Tonally, the movie is all over the place, as well. In one moment, Strays gives us an inoffensively obvious joke about dogs hating postal workers, only for another to have a predictable gag about the canine pals hallucinating on mushrooms turn into a bloody massacre. It also becomes oddly sappy at times—and not in a satirical way, either, because that might have taken some actual comedic effort.

Back to Home

Buy Related Products