Smart dogs in a dumb movie that needs a muzzle.
Luc Besson, the French filmmaker behind such hits as “The Fifth Element” and “Leon, The Professional,” was accused of raping San Van Roy, but the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, and last year, he was cleared of all charges. He goes back to directing again, and his latest feature is “DogMan,” which is all over the place with sinister or twisted characters, and a bunch of dogs who all seem smarter than the screenplay gives them credit for.
The movie stars Caleb Landry Jones as a drag queen and dog lover named Doug, who gets arrested after surviving a “Home Alone” inspired gang war, and tells his psychiatrist (Jojo T. Gibbs) about his life story. He does know that their interview is being recorded, and that he could go away for a long time, or maybe a death sentence since his tale involves thievery and murder. But he tells her he has died before and will die again.
As a boy (Lincoln Powell), his abusive father (Clemens Schick) and religious fanatic brother (Alexander Settineri) have locked him in a dog cage, as he admitted he loved dogs more than his family. I don’t blame him. He escapes from their clutches, when he has one of his dogs lead the police to his house. And both the brother and old man would eventually meet their comeuppances.
Doug’s captivity has resulted a bullet in his spine, which damages his ability to walk. He can walk a little bit, but he wears leg braces and is often seen in a wheel chair. Am I making sense to you?
At one of boys home, he fell in love with his theatre teacher Salma (Grace Palma), who becomes a famous stage actress and marries another man. Now, this moment seems tedious and lame, based on the Doug’s expressions and how he freaks out at the dog shelter he runs. His experiences with Salma, however, has inspired him to take the cabaret stages. He’s able to perform standing up, and when his act is over, he must return to his wheelchair.
And about his love for dogs, he uses his dogs as his own personal gangsters dealing with worse criminals and stealing jewelry from rich people (Maria Berenson plays an aristocrat). So, that would basically make Doug The Dogfather.
As I’m watching “DogMan,” I was concerned that the dogs would resort to crap jokes when they break into wealthy homes, but they’re a lot smarter than that (I’m telling this to the people behind “Strays”). In fact, they’re well-trained and are actually characters you want to get to know more of. If only they were labeled characters with names. They have their moments regarding comeuppances (I’d rather not say) and jailbreaks, and it’s often entertaining in those notions.
If only the overall movie was as exhilarating as it disguises itself to be. The characters are cliched and superficial, and sometimes, they have to make poor decisions. And if it was a Besson movie, then it should have taken this genre to new heights. It holds itself back from what could have been an instant classic, and not even Jones (who was better in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) could shake things up. It’s all dispositions and visionary dreams from here.
In Select Theaters