Unleashed (2016)

When a cosmic event turns Emma's dog and cat into two perfect guys, Emma reconsiders her outlook on dating, hilariously works out her trust issues, and ultimately learns to love herself.

Director:

Finn Taylor

Writer:

Finn Taylor

Stars:

Steve Howey, Justin Chatwin, Sean Astin

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Steve Howey	...	Sam
Justin Chatwin	...	Diego
Sean Astin	...	Carl
Illeana Douglas	...	Monty
Kate Micucci	...	Emma
Hana Mae Lee	...	Nina
Josh Brener	...	Luke
Vanessa Ross	...	City Hipster
Kathy Garver	...	Jean
Scott Coffey	...	Leather Dude
Ashton Swinford	...	Yvonne
Anthony Snow	...	Silver Pickup Driver
Erik Braa	...	Big Guy in Bar
Etienne Vick	...	Yogini
AnnaCorey	...	Jess Hipster Girlfriend

Storyline

When a cosmic event turns Emma's dog and cat into two perfect guys, Emma reconsiders her outlook on dating, hilariously works out her trust issues, and ultimately learns to love herself.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | dog | transformation | male nudity | male rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

What if your perfect pets became your "perfect" match?

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Liebe auf 4 Pfoten

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Braveart Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

After principle filming was completed on July 31st, Kate Micucci presents the cast and crew with her signature drawings as gifts.

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Goofs

Carl says he has solar panels for his tiny house, but in all shots of the house, including the roof, there are no solar panels.

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Connections

Featured in Conan: Al Franken/Kate Micucci/Portugal. The Man (2017)

User Reviews

Quirky and nice - and funny

Greetings again from the darkness. Quirky is an overused word to describe far too many offbeat independent movies and unconventional actors. However, sometimes no better word exists, and that's exactly the situation with writer/director Finn Taylor's latest. A full moon cosmic event results in a collision between astronomy and astrology, and just like that … Emma's faithful pet dog and cat are transformed into hunky human boyfriend material.

Adding to the high level of quirk (in the role of Emma) is the extraordinarily multi-talented Kate Micucci ("Garfunkel and Oates") – an actress, comedian, writer, musician and artist. Plus, she is just so darn likable and nice! In fact, "nice" may be the only challenger to quirky in how best to describe this film. Sure it's cute and sweet and delightful, but above all, it's a nice movie whose nice characters will leave you with a nice feeling.

Steve Howey and Justin Chatwin (both from "Shameless") are spot on in their portrayals of Sam and Diego - the humanized dog and cat, respectively. Howey and his bleach blonde hair and boundless energy capture the devoted pooch, while Chatwin is downright hilarious with his feline tendencies that attract a public following. Given much leeway with the roles, we never lose sight of their original connection to love-lost Emma.

While the premise may offend some (though nothing else in the film will), the humor stems from this being a woman's fantasy. Her beloved pets, with full knowledge of her likes and dislikes, and with blind commitment, take on beautiful male human form without losing the lovable pet traits. What more could a women-done-wrong desire? It's also quite a scathing commentary on modern day dating, with the ne'er-do-well Luke (Josh Brener, "Silicon Valley") contrasted to the too-nice Carl (Sean Astin). Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect) is Emma's spunky best bud and co-worker, and Illeana Douglas plays their boss.

There are some terrific Bay Area film locations utilized, and the music is so perfectly matched that we find ourselves saying "of course" as each new song pops up. Filmmaker Taylor certainly could have gone a bit harsher with the commentary and humor, but let's enjoy this quirk for what it is … a really nice time.