How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (2000)

A sarcastic playwright in LA gets new neighbors - single mom and 8 y.o. girl. His wife wants kids and babysits the girl. He doesn't want kids yet plays with her to find out how children talk - for his play. Paternal instincts?

Director:

Michael Kalesniko

Writer:

Michael Kalesniko

Stars:

Kenneth Branagh, Robin Wright, Suzi Hofrichter

6 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kenneth Branagh	...	Peter McGowen
Robin Wright	...	Melanie McGowen (as Robin Wright Penn)
Suzi Hofrichter	...	Amy Walsh
Lynn Redgrave	...	Edna
Jared Harris	...	False Peter
Peter Riegert	...	Larry
David Krumholtz	...	Brian Sellars
Johnathon Schaech	...	Adam
Kaitlin Hopkins	...	Victoria
Suzy Joachim	...	Allana
Brett Rickaby	...	Janitor
Lucinda Jenney	...	Trina Walsh
Derek Kellock	...	Amy's Father
Stacy Hogue	...	Babysitter
Peri Gilpin	...	Debra Salhany

Storyline

Shy, chain-smoking, insomniac Peter McGowan is a Los Angeles playwright with a string of hits that preceded his current ten years of failed productions. His mother-in-law is sinking into senility. A stranger is meandering the neighborhood claiming to be him. Neighbors have a new dog that barks all night. His wife wants to have a child, and he does not. He's become impotent. He's working on a new play when a single mother moves in next door with her eight-year-old daughter. His wife immediately invites the girl into the McGowan household. Will this child stir Peter's paternal feelings? Will she also help him get his dialogue right? And what of his doppelganger and the neighbor's dog?

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Plot Keywords:

neighbor | dog | doppelganger | girl | play | 

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Taglines:

One man's pet is another man's peeve.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Lonsdale Productions [United States]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 2003 (France)

Also Known As:

Como Matar o Cão do Vizinho

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,956, 24 February 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$48,564, 21 April 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG, Lonsdale Productions, Millennium Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Outside of festivals, this movie did not receive a major theatrical release and wound up going directly to cable.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Handler: Mr. McGowen, I think we're ready. This way, please.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits roll, there is a short break showing the scene portraying the dog after it had been shot. The director shouts "cut," and the dog gets off the ground and barks.

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Connections

References Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996)

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Soundtracks

A Groovy Kind of Love
(end title)
Music by Toni Wine
Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager
Performed by Petula Clark (uncredited)
Courtesy of GNP Crescendo Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Intelligent Comedy, Worth Watching

I liked this movie - for a change we have here an intelligent comedy, smart dialogs, a conventional story that succeeds to almost never fall in the romantic routine. The story is set in Los Angeles. A British-American play-writer goes through a mid-life, mid-career, mid-relationship crisis. He is happily married, but the couple is childless, mostly probably because he is a champion of egocentrism and does not seem to like children very much. All this changes when a neighbor with an eight-year old daughter moves in. You have indeed seen the story in many other movies, but the masterful acting of Branagh with good support from the rest of the team, the sarcastic description of the content-empty life in the artistic circles in Los Angeles, and the witty relationship between the European roots of the character and his Americanized life make the film both interesting to watch, as well as true in message. 8 out of 10 on my personal scale.