Old Dogs (2009)

Two friends and business partners find their lives turned upside down when strange circumstances lead them to be the temporary guardians of seven year-old twins.

Director:

Walt Becker

Writers:

David Diamond, David Weissman

Stars:

Robin Williams, John Travolta, Seth Green

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Charlie
Robin Williams	...	Dan
Kelly Preston	...	Vicki
Conner Rayburn	...	Zach
Ella Bleu Travolta	...	Emily
Lori Loughlin	...	Amanda
Seth Green	...	Craig
Bernie Mac	...	Jimmy Lunchbox
Matt Dillon	...	Barry
Ann-Margret	...	Martha
Rita Wilson	...	Jenna
Amy Sedaris	...	Condo Woman
Residente	...	Tattoo Artist
Sab Shimono	...	Yoshiro Nishamura (as Saburo Shimono)
Kevin Yamada	...	Riku (as Kevin W. Yamada)

Storyline

Charlie and Dan have been best friends and business partners for thirty years and their Manhattan public relations firm is on the verge of a huge business deal with a Japanese company. With two weeks to sew up the contract, Dan gets a surprise; a woman he married on a drunken impulse nearly nine years before (annulled the next day) shows up to tell him he's the father of her twins, now seven, and she'll be in jail for 14 days for a political protest. Dan volunteers to keep the tykes, although he's uptight and clueless. With Charlie's help is there any way they can be dad and uncle, meet the kids' expectations, and still land the account?

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Plot Keywords:

cake | pet funeral | pill | child raising | mix up | 

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Taglines:

Sit. Stay. Play Dad.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild rude humor

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robin Williams' last time working with Disney.

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Goofs

In an early scene, workers put large, complicated child protection locks on the cabinets in Charlie's kitchen. Later, the locks are gone.

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Quotes

Charlie: You crying, man?
Jimmy Lunchbox: [holding back tears] I ain't cryin'!

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Connections

References Chariots of Fire (1981)

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Soundtracks

Land Of 1,000 Dances
Written by Chris Kenner
Performed by Wilson Pickett
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

An uneven, uninspired mix of slapstick and schmaltz

Disney has put out some good movies, and some stinkers. This movie fits firmly in the latter category. John Travolta and Robin Williams phone in their performances in this uneven mix of slapstick and schmaltz. John Travolta and Robin Williams play business partners who run a sports marketing firm, but when Robin Williams' character finds out he has children, he and Travolta have to play dad for a couple of weeks while the mother serves a little time in jail. Nothing about the plot was fresh or interesting although, to Disney's credit, they really don't deal with much outside of formula filmmaking anyway. There were a couple of visual gags that were legitimately funny...the first time around. But then they just keep using the same jokes over and over again. Kids might enjoy adults getting hit repeatedly in the groin, but not me. And then to make matters worse, there's some humor insinuating that the main characters are gay, which will go right over children's heads. Ultimately, this film is aimed at families with young children, but the humor is hackneyed at best and I don't see parents enjoying it too much. The message about the importance of family is admirable, but Disney has done much better than this in the past. Ultimately, this won't go down in the annals of Disney history as even a good film, and it certainly is one of the worst films that John Travolta and Robin Williams have ever made. Some old dogs just need to be put to sleep.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Ukrainian

Release Date:

25 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Old Dogs

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,894,511, 29 November 2009

Gross USA:

$49,492,060

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$96,753,696

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Tapestry Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1