Good Boy! (10 October 2003)
directed by John Robert Hoffman
starring Liam Aiken, Matthew Broderick, Molly Shannon, Kevin Nealon, Brittany Moldowan, George Touliatos, Patti Allan, Hunter Elliott, Mikhael Speidel, Benjamin Ratner, Peter Fleming, Paul Vogt, Delta Burke, Donald Faison, Cheech Marin, Brittany Murphy, Vanessa Redgrave, Carl Reiner
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MPAA rating: Studio: Jim Henson Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Script: John Robert Hoffman Music: Mark Mothersbaugh Running time: 87 minutes Tags: aliens; Comedy; dogs; Family Film Tactical strength: [5/10]
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for some mild crude humor
Owen (Liam Aiken) wants a dog, but his parents make him start a dog-walking service to show that he can handle the responsibility of owning a pet. After serving the requisite number of days meticulously marked on the calendar, Owen announces to his parents (Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon) that adoption day has arrived. At the shelter, Owen chooses a terrier mutt and names the dog Hubble (voice by Matthew Broderick). Later that night, Hubble leaves the house and Owen -- worried about his new dog running away -- follows him to the crash site of Hubble's space ship. Through a malfunction of Hubble's communicator, Owen gains the ability to understand dogs' speech.
After getting over the shock of understanding dogs, Owen learns that Hubble comes from Sirius, the dog star, with an assignment to evaluate the progress of Earth dogs. Thousands of years earlier, the first dogs came to earth with a mission to dominate the planet. If Hubble sends back a bad report, than the Great Dane, queen of the space-doggie empire, would issue a total recall, removing all dogs from the planet.
Owen wanted a dog in the first place because he has a hard time making and keeping friends. His parents buy fixer-upper homes and move as soon as they have completed the current house. The constant moving leaves Owen without any long-term friends, and he hopes a dog will provide him with a friend. Once Owen learns that Hubble won't stay on Earth, Owen gets somewhat depressed and makes a nice speech about the friendship between dogs and man. When the space-dogs don't hear from Hubble, the Great Dane decides to make a personal visit to Earth. Not wanting Hubble or the Earth dogs to get in trouble, Owen tries to help the dogs prepare for the royal visit that will determine the ultimate fate of dogs on the earth.
Aiken shines above the rest of the children in the cast. Writer and director John Robert Hoffman used local talent in British Columbia for the other children, who do a passable job but present an awkwardness on screen that distracts from their roles. The voice actors do an excellent job with portraying the various doggie personas.
I liked Good Boy! but doubt that I would want to own it or see it again. You can appreciate Liam Aiken's development as an actor, but often the script gives lame dialogue to everyone, making Good Boy! somewhat painful to watch with not enough comedy to offset the pain.
