The Shaggy Dog (2006)
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Theatrical Release: Mar 10, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $61,039,681
Synopsis: Directed by Brian Robbins (VARSITY BLUES, THE PERFECT SCORE), this updated spin on THE SHAGGY DOG and THE SHAGGY D.A. features Tim Allen as Dave Douglas, a Deputy District Attorney who spends way too much time at the office and way too little time with his family. His son, Joe (Spencer Breslin),... Directed by Brian Robbins (VARSITY BLUES, THE PERFECT SCORE), this updated spin on THE SHAGGY DOG and THE SHAGGY D.A. features Tim Allen as Dave Douglas, a Deputy District Attorney who spends way too much time at the office and way too little time with his family. His son, Joe (Spencer Breslin), feels completely misunderstood, and his wife, Rachel (Kristin Davis), feels like a single parent. To make matters worse, his teenage daughter, Carly (Zena Gray), considers Douglas the enemy because he is representing a pharmaceutical company, Grant and Strickland, in their case against her social studies teacher, who is accused of burning down their lab to protest animal testing. Douglas' life changes in an instant when animal-loving Carly brings home a friendly shaggy dog that bites the dog-disliking D.A. What Douglas doesn't know is that the dog has a secret. This Tibetan wonder dog is 300 years old, as smart as a human, and as playful as a pup. Soon, Douglas is exhibiting canine tendencies himself - a heightened sense of smell, a tendency to growl at opposing counsel in court, and an overwhelming urge to defend his front yard. His full transformation to a dog allows him rare insight into what his family really thinks and feels, and gives Douglas the opportunity to decide what is truly important. To further complicate matters, Grant and Strickland – the very company Douglas is representing – are certain that the dog that bit him holds the secret to the Fountain of Youth, and are determined to learn what it is. Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Dr. Kozak, Grant and Strickland's evil mastermind, and Philip Baker Hall plays head honcho Strickland. Jane Curtin and Danny Glover are also featured. [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Tim Allen, Kristin Davis, Zena Grey, Danny Glover, Robert Downey
DVD Info
Release:
Aug 1, 2006
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Full Frame - 1.33
- Widescreen - 2.40
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Dolby Digital 2.0 - French
- Dolby Digital 2.0 - Spanish
- Subtitles - French - Optional
- Subtitles - Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Featurette - "Bone-Tickling Bloopers"
- Commentaries - Commentary with Director Brian Robbins and Producer David Hoberman
- Deleted Scenes
- "Bark-Along Bone-us Feature" for Dogs
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
A good-natured, sometimes silly family fun that will play especially well with the under-13 set.
...better than one might've expected, primarily due to the enthusiasm with which Allen tackles his role...
At least Fred MacMurray had the good sense to let the co-star playing his son turn into a dog. But this is a Tim Allen picture, so he does the honors himself.
The film just translates the basic idea for a new generation under the ill-conceived notion that it was necessary.
Five writers (Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley, Geoff Rodkey, Jack Amiel and Michael Begler) threw everything they could think of against the wall, hoping some of it would stick, but nothing did.
It's an underestimation of the intelligence of your average eight year old to believe his or her rapt attention can be held for long by a film like this.
Man becomes mutt in this inoffensive, uneven comedy that fails to make the most of its comic potential or familiar cast.
Bizarre, incomprehensible and utterly unnecessary, "The Shaggy Dog" comes bounding onto the screen with a loud soundtrack, a cute pooch, vivid colors and dozens of product placements.
The plot may sound stupid, but it's tightly written and it pushes all the right emotional buttons.
The Shaggy Dog feels like little more than a stale rehash with a promising cast whose talents haven't been tapped.
A flea-bitten farrago which bears only a fleeting resemblance to the 1959 film that inspired it.
The Shaggy Dog, another tired retread from Disney, is so aggressively unfunny it should just roll over and play dead. Come on, guys, do something original for once.
There are precious few surprises here, but parents will find director Robbins’ breezy remake a painless affair and, judging by the yowls of laughter from the peanut gallery at the screening I attended, the kids will be barking all the way home.
Just when Allen is on a ferociously funny roll, director Brian Robbins is forced to collar and replace him with a collie doing a lame impersonation of a human.
The Shaggy Dog wears its heart of on its paw, capitalizing on Dave's transformation to better understand his family.
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