A Dog Year (2009)

A guy suffering from a midlife crisis takes in a dog that's crazier than he is.

Director:

George LaVoo

Writers:

George LaVoo, Jon Katz (book)

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Lauren Ambrose, Lois Smith

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Jon Katz
Lauren Ambrose	...	Emma
Lois Smith	...	Lois Blair
Domhnall Gleeson	...	Anthony Armstrong
Welker White	...	Brenda King
Elizabeth Marvel	...	Margo
Pamela Stewart	...	Patti (as Pamela Holden Stewart)
Deirdre O'Connell	...	Donna Brady
Karen Allen	...	Paula (voice)
Leo Trombetta	...	Richard (voice)
Patricia Lentz	...	Holly (voice) (as Pat Lentz)
Jan Leslie Harding	...	Nancy Longhetti
Teresa Yenque	...	Airport Bystander
Glenn Kessler	...	Airport Police
Joe Wachowski	...	Airport Police

Storyline

Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?

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Plot Keywords:

dog | border collie | writers block | handyman | marital problem | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hundår

Filming Locations:

Greenwich, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Duopoly, Devon's Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The veterinary hospital scenes in the film were shot at the Animal Hospital of White Plains. The hospital is co-owned by Dr. Maria Lagana, who also served as Vet consultant on the picture.

User Reviews

Heartwarming, funny and poignant

I love movies that have interaction between humans and animals like Marley & Me and Hachi: A Dog's Tale. As a kid I used to love this kind of movies mostly because of naivety on my part. As I have gotten older and cynical, few movies still touch me that deeply.

This is not only one of my favorite human-animal movie, my favorite Jeff Bridges movie but also one of the best movies I have ever seen. It helped that my expectations were really low as this movie has a very low rating on IMDb.

Jeff Bridges is a cranky old guy who already has too much problems when he starts caring a mistreated dog, who is crazier than he is. I know it doesn't sounds much but the movie is amazing. It is laugh aloud funny, touching and still very realistic with out any clichés associated with this type of stories like dog saving owner's life.