Year of the Dog (2007/I)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Mike White

Writer (WGA):

Mike White (written by)

Release Date:

31 August 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Has the world left you a stray?

Plot:

A secretary's life changes in unexpected ways after her dog dies.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Love | Vegan | Office | Neighbor

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 11	7:45 AM	SHOW
Thur. July 16	12:15 PM	SHOW

Cast

Molly Shannon	...	Peggy
Laura Dern	...	Bret
Regina King	...	Layla
Thomas McCarthy	...	Pier
Josh Pais	...	Robin
John C. Reilly	...	Al
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Newt
Amy Schlagel	...	Lissie
Zoe Schlagel	...	Lissie
Dale Godboldo	...	Don
Inara George	...	Holly
Liza Weil	...	Trishelle
Jon Shere	...	Pound Employee
Christy Moore	...	Al’s Girlfriend (as Christy Lynn Moore)
Audrey Wasilewski	...	Audrey

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some suggestive references.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | UK:PG | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Altadena, California, USA

Company:

Black & White Productions

Trivia:

The website where Molly makes her card is a real website for making greeting cards.

Quotes:

Layla: I believe that there is somebody on this planet for us all. Even retarded cripple people get married. You just have to be open. So maybe your dog died so your love life could live.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Molly Shannon/Linkin Park (#32.19)" (2007)

I don't have much new to add, but this film is unfortunately being overlooked

I'm a sucker for movies about people and their pets. This film stars former SNL player Molly Shannon as a secretary whose personal life revolves around her beagle, Pencil. When he passes away unexpectedly, she has to find another reason to go on. The film first hints that she'll discover the world of humans around her, particularly men, as two new ones (John C. Reilly & Peter Saarsgard) enter her life. But it smartly steers away from the obvious and veers into a more original voyage of self-discovery. My only real problem with the film is that a lot of the supporting characters are a little too caricature-esquire (notably Shannon's boss, played by Josh Pais), but writer/director White does a good job of redeeming them for the most part. A very touching, gentle film that's well worth your time.