Audience Member
I thought the movie was fun, if a bit rushed. My son who is 4 absolutely loved it, went nuts every time Rainy did something "cool" and I guess that's the point.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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Audience Member
This is a great family movie. I have it on DVD and it keeps my three wild ones , Monica, Henry,And Dawn calm. When I hear them laugh it brings me joy and that's all I ask for in a movie
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
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Audience Member
was pleasantly surprised in this kids movie... it has a lot of action and you root for the dog to find his owners. and in the end he, his young boy owner and the boys friend save the day. nice breezy little movie :)
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"It's a kids film" is an easy way to avoid putting effort and criticism in films that are not intended for older audiences. Aside from being a poor excuse to not view a bad film it's incredibly insulting that there are some who demand very little effort be made for movies specifically targeted toward kids. The film in question today is "Cool Dog" directed by Danny Lerner. Now as a producer I've seen some of Lerner films like "The Legend of Hercules", "Ninja" (2009), "Today You Die" (2005), "Conan the Barbarian" (2011), "The Mechanic" (2011), "Olympus Has Fallen" (2013), and "The Expendables 2 & 3". His resume is filled with action movies, generally ones that action enthusiasts wouldn't call decent films even in their respective genre standards. However, he can receive praise for also producing "The Grey Zone" (2001), "Sunday" (1997), and "Edges of the Lord" (2001) which are his best produce films. Ironically, they are also his rare outings from action films. So is a man whose entire career is around producing films generally about a single man killing several others capable of directing a film directly targeted towards kids? Well the answer is clear when you saw the rating and no he can't.
Cool Dog is about a devoted German shepherd named Rainy attempting to follow his young master Jimmy across the country in New York City. The film begins in the small town of Eagle Rock, Louisiana where Rainy goes around his presumably daily routine of ringing the town bell, helping a cripple man cross the street, and waking up his owner in time to go to school. People in the street refer to this dog as "Cool Dog"! He's so cool in fact that everyone refers to Rainy as "Cool Dog", even if the person is meeting him for the first time. A film opening minutes shouldn't cast doubt on the audience about its quality which this film does. It introduces a scene where Jimmy and his dad visit their mother grave. It's pointless since Jimmy and his parents relationship is never a focus in the story of any sort. Before that scene though, Jimmy has to face the harsh reality and move to another State which occurs in the first fifteen minutes. In no way do the writers attempt to incorporate a scene showing an average day for Jimmy in the small town of Eagle Rock. Within those same fifteen minutes Rainy saves a little girl from falling from a train track that goes over a river and is given a parade. Not a whole lot must happen in that small town. That's saying something for a guy who lived in the uneventful small town of Pittsburg, Kansas for several years.
After the initial first fifteen minutes most of the film is just Rainy journey to find Jimmy in New York. All the direction Rainy needs to get to New York from Louisiana is a postcard. Before even reaching the end of the first act the film has already failed to provide character or conflict worth investing in. Throughout the film "Cool Dog" is able to perform incredible feats that that no ordinary dog can do in order to get to Jimmy. Rainy is able to play harmonica, banjo, checkers (and win), the piano, understand the English language, knows how to pay for food, has his own I-Pod that he knows how to use which contains the song "Cool Dog", can skateboard (off-screen), knows how to get to New York by only seeing a single post card, can chew a whole through a door, and is able to drive a boat. Whenever Rainy is involved logic does not apply for he is "Cool Dog".
There's a scene that involves Rainy committing grand theft auto, "Not Cool Dog". If this were a cartoon accepting Rainy can drive a car (along with other things) would be no issue, but in a live action movie where a little thing call reality that goes against cartoon like behavior. Not only that, but people on the street cheer on (Not) "Cool Dog" while he's driving a stolen car and somehow manages to do so while putting on sunglasses. This film expects you take the fact that a dog knows driving regulations, knows how to operate a car, knows his way around New York despite never being their, and the audience to be brain dead. Unless the film conveys to the audience in some form it's meant to be intentionally illogical it'll be taken as an insult to the audience intelligence.
By the end of the film Rainy gets a key to the city awarded to him by the mayor of New York who also makes Rainy a citizen of New York. The reason being he captures criminals, stops an illegal pet store, and is resurrected from the dead because there's nothing "Cool Dog" can't do. The human characters in the film lack development and aren't as interesting as Rainy. While the human characters never perform feats that requires suspension of disbelief nothing is ever tackle by them. Jimmy constantly complains about the no pet policy in his apartment leading to multiple conversations leading to Jimmy being scolded that it is against the rules. Again, a scene is dedicated to Jimmy going to his mother grave, but the film never bothers to tackle any related issues to it.
Then the landlords of the apartment lack subtlety making the reveal of them running an illegal underground pet store even more obvious. These landlord villains offer plenty of bad jokes, bad slapstick, and a pointless chase scene. Also, the landlords do attempt to sell Jimmy to an oversea buyer. Child trafficking, now there's some material that's comedy gold for a film aimed directly at kids. Like everything else involving humans it goes nowhere. Finally comes the token bullies of the film that pick on Jimmy. As oppose to treating Jimmy as a victim of bullying as a subplot it is instead just an annoyance. Even the police in this film are incompetent at their jobs bringing a kid while they chase down Jimmy kidnappers. If you think the police are bad for bringing a child during a car chase then Jimmy parents are far worse since they don't notice him missing until the end of the film.
Production values are low in this straight to DVD film. What little special effects there are involves cheap CGI effects and practical dog paw effects whenever the German Shepherd is driving, playing the piano, or performing any illogical feat. The editing of the film is unnoticeable with a couple exception where it needlessly incorporate slow motion. There is also usage of some cartoonish sound effects that come across as juvenile, though aren't used frequently for comedic purposes either. Supporting actors are given little to do performing three actions; performing slapstick, spouting exposition, or telling bad jokes. That's about it for the supporting cast.
Now since the German Shepherd was trained to perform specific actions it did its job adequately. Jackson Pace delivers his dialogue by whining and spends most of the film being depressed about missing his dog. Restricting Pace ability to display many form of emotions. Michael Pare who plays Kimmy father comes across as stiff and unenthusiastic. One scene that should require Pare to come across sincere when breaking the news to Pace they are moving he shows no emotion. Christa Campbell receives less screen time than Pare and her acting is stiff as well. Rarely being able to deliver certain lines of disdain towards something convincingly. David Jensen sounds like he has a bad case of nasal allergy always sounding like he's about to sneeze. Finally all Jen Kober is allowed to do is look cranky speaking at times with a high pitch voice. Unfortunately Kober and Jensen are also comedic reliefs hurt by their bad performances. To recap, the German Shepherd is best the actor in this movie.
"Cool Dog" is a terrible movie especially for kids. It doesn't feature any sort of vile content, but insulting their intelligence is just as harmful. For instance, it refuses to incorporate the death of a parent into the plot in any form despite being one of the first scenes in the movie. Instead of dealing with the issues of death "Cool Dog" believes it's much better to show a dog performing over the top feats no ordinary dog can accomplish. Nothing it tries to do is fully committed leaving an empty feeling for the viewers once it's over. That's not including the one dimensional characters, plot points that go nowhere, and bad production values that have little thought put into them. "Cool Dog" is nothing more than bad example of how to make a terrible film specifically aimed at kids which is not cool.
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Acting was below par. Okay for a beginner. I couldn't figure out if it was a spoof or not.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The greatest film in the history of cinema. The dog steals a car, buys 2 hot dogs, and beats a homeless man in checkers with a triple jump. Instant classic!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
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