Strays
review by Bobby Blakey
Movies focusing on dogs are always going to suck fans in, but the latest Strays takes the animal friendly genre that is usually a family friendly affair to a whole new place. The film features a great cast including Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Will Forte, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Josh Gad, Robb Riggle and Sofia Vergara from Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar director Josh Greenbaum. Could this flick bring the canine infused laughs as promised or should it have been on a leash?
Strays follows Reggie who falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed Boston Terrier named Bug, a stray who loves his freedom and believes that owners are for suckers. Reggie finally realizes he was in a toxic relationship and begins to see his owner Doug for the heartless sleazeball that he is. Determined to seek revenge, Reggie, Bug and Bug’s pals—Maggie, a smart Australian Shepherd who has been sidelined by her owner’s new puppy, and Hunter, an anxious Great Dane who’s stressed out by his work as an emotional support animal—together hatch a plan and embark on an epic adventure to help Reggie find his way home … and make Doug pay by biting off the appendage he loves the most. (Hint: It’s not his foot).
I was really looking forward to this after seeing the trailers. It looked to not only be hilarious, but also really embrace the R rating. It was a very funny film and does dive into the R rating, but I was surprised that it wasn’t near as over the top as I had expected. This is both good and bad even though it feels like they play it too safe a couple times. Have no fear they still go all in more often than not and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments it just felt like it could have been so much more.
Make no mistake this move is pretty funny and I did thoroughly enjoy it in all
its ridiculous chaos. The dogs mouths when they talk takes some getting used to but just have fun with it and let it happen and it is easy to buy into it all. The dogs are all great on their own, but each voice perfectly matches its breed and really adds the fun and depth to these canines. They play into all the usual tropes of the world of dogs both what owners deal with and the weird behavior of the dogs themselves. They go all in and makes for plenty of laughs, but also a lot of heart as Reggie looks to find himself and helps the other dogs along the way.
In the end the film delivers exactly what it set out to do and that is laughs. Could it have pushed some of the boundaries to bring it home of course, but it still works all around. It has a great pay off to the journey and even satisfaction to all the other dogs and where they are heading making for a funny heart warming film that is not for the entire family, but for the adults to enjoy.
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including commentary and numerous featurettes taking audiences behind bringing these canines to life. Join this crazy pack of hounds with Strays available now on digital and Peacock and then on Blu-ray and DVD on October 10th from Universal Home Entertainment.