Strays review

STRAYS: 

RAUNCHY WILL FERRELL DOG COMEDY GIVES EXACTLY WHAT IT ADVERTISES! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: 

out of 4

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Reggie and Bug in Strays

 

            A dog/talking animal movie like no other is unleashed upon the world in Strays, an R-rated talking dog comedy produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Jump Street, The Lego Movie franchise, Spider-Verse) and directed by Josh Greenbaum (New Girl, Fresh Off the Boat, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar). We’ve seen a lot of talking animal movies over the years especially dog-related ones like the Cats & Dogs trilogy (Yes, they actually made a f*cking trilogy out of that!), A Dog’s Purpose, Show Dogs, and those goddamn Beverly Hills Chihuahua movies. 

            We know how formulaic these films can be and you can easily point out the tropes many of them often share if you’ve seen enough talking dog movies. Same old sh*t that we’ve seen a million times before. But once in a while there comes a film that knows audiences have seen these clichés and storylines before and instead of making a generic, run-of-the-mill dog movie, the filmmakers decide to have fun with it and create an outrageous, unapologetically vulgar jab at them, Strays is that kind of movie. 

            This movie gives exactly what it advertises and doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is, a raunchy comedy with talking dogs, a ruthless owner, and a race to get back home…to bite the owner’s private parts off…that somehow works in a few heartfelt moments amongst the canine chaos. I’m not gonna lie, I got some good laughs out of Strays and even found myself being invested in the film’s more wholesome scenes. 

            The film follows Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell-Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory, Step Brothers), an adorable albeit gullible little dog who just wants to make his master proud and be called a “Good Boy”. Unfortunately, his master Doug (Will Forte-Saturday Night Live, Clone High, Nebraska) is a ruthless, dog-hating drug addict who never wanted him in the first place. 

            After Doug abandons Reggie somewhere in the city, he befriends a group of other stray dogs including a street-wise Boston Terrier named Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx-Ray, Django Unchained, Baby Driver), an Australian Shepherd known as Maggie (voiced by Isla Fisher-Wedding Crashers, The Great Gatsby (2013), Now You See Me), and a therapy Great Dane named Hunter (voiced by Randall Park-The Five-Year Engagement, The Interview, Marvel Cinematic Universe) who help Reggie on his journey to get back home…not to happily reunite with his owner like all that other fluffy dog movie bullsh*t, but to bite Doug’s dick off as revenge for leaving him behind. Oh, and something about tripping balls after eating mushrooms…can’t forget that. 

            The film also stars Brett Gelman (Stranger Things, Fleabag, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile) as Willy, Greta Lee (Sisters,Past Lives, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) as Brenda, and Dan Perrault (American Vandal, Players) as Dr. Hagen and features the voices of Rob Riggle (Saturday Night Live, The Hangover, 21 Jump Street) as Rolf, Sofia Vergara (Lords of Dogtown, Four Brothers, Chef) as Deliliah, Jamie Demetriou (Fleabag, Stath Lets Flats, Barbie) as Chester, Josh Gad (The Book of Mormon, Frozen 1 and 2, The Angry Birds Movie 1 and 2) as Gus the Narrator Dog (A parody of his vocal performances from A Dog’s Purpose and A Dog’s Journey), Jimmy Tatro (22 Jump Street, Stuber, Theater Camp) as Finn, Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Blue Beetle) as Shitstain, and Phil Morris (Seinfeld, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Doom Patrol) as Bubsy. 

            Overall, Strays is the kind of film that’s easy to recommend to someone “Have you seen the trailer? Did you find it humorous? If so, you’ll probably enjoy this movie” and as mentioned before it gives exactly what it promises, no more no less. For me, I found Strays to be very amusing throughout and while not every joke landed, I found myself laughing just enough with my favorite being the already mentioned, Narrator Dog gag that parodies the Dog’s Purposemovies which I found incredibly funny and a follow-up joke involving one of the actors from said films. 

            However, within the film’s foul-mouthed exterior there is also a lot of heart and genuine wholesomeness that elevates it above being just a novelty movie about dogs swearing and making crude jokes. I really enjoy the friendship the stray dogs have with each one of them having a likable personality, the backstory of Bug (Jamie Foxx dog) and why he doesn’t take kindly to humans is surprisingly heartbreaking and mostly played straight, and the resolution at the end is actually very sweet. 

            It also helps that the cast is excellent and effortlessly balances the raunch and the heart with Will Ferrell being perfectly cast as this lovable but easily tricked Border Terrier (Sort of like Buddy from Elf if he was a dog and James Caan was a heartless sack of sh*t) to the point where now whenever I see a Border Terrier on the street, I’m going to imagine Ferrell’s voice coming out of it. Jamie Foxx is also a standout as this street-smart, tough-acting Boston Terrier who teaches Reggie about the stray life who has great comedic timing while also selling the heartfelt moments as well. 

            Will Forte is a treasure as a dog abusing, drug-addicted former owner who you just love to hate and want to see him get his comeuppance in the end. He is not a sympathetic character who is redeemed in the end, nor does he see the error of his ways in the film, he is a bitter, ruthless guy who needs to get his dick bitten off and he plays the part beautifully while the film itself reminds the audience that abusive dog owners just need to get their privates bitten off to learn their lesson sometimes. 

            If you’re looking for an alternative to those fluffy, shmaltzy dog movies that pervaded movie theater screens in the 90s-2000s that still manages to tell a heartwarming story then Strays might be your kind of movie. You should probably leave the puppies at home for this one though. 

 

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