"Dog Gone" Review - Written by Mathius Mack Gertz

Title: Dog Gone
Year: 2008
Director: Mark Stouffer
Starring: French Stewart…Blackie
Luke Benward…Owen
Brittany Curran…Lilly
Kelly Perine…Arty
Kevin Farley…Bud
MPAA Rating: PG [for some bullying, rude humor, language, mild threat and action]
Studio: Stouffer Pictures in association with North By Northwest Entertainment
Distributor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Running time: 108 minutes
Official Website: http://www.diamonddogcaper.com/ , http://www.screenmediafilms.net/

Nowadays we watch Keystone Cops and Marx Brothers comedies from the 1920’s and marvel at them. They are rude and crude and yet we smile and enjoy them as adult humor. In fact, the original audience might just as easily have consisted of adolescents and teenagers and frequently did. Then there are the classic animated films of Walt Disney that convey an idealized picture appreciated by ‘children of all ages’. Combining those two traditions we have DOG GONE which is definitely cued towards a tweeny audience but can be appreciated by parents as well.

There are plenty of sight gags, slapstick and even some cartoon squirrels that should please Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) fans as well. The cautious use of digital critters adds to the story instead of distracting us from it. Disney Channel favorite Luke Benward and the delightful doggie (no credit given) keep the pacing steady, while Kevin Farley and Kelly Perine provide plenty of flatulence and pratfalls. However, this movie belongs to French Stewart, who is wonderful as the main antagonist. Weather dressed as a blind nun or in a Men in Black (1997) suit, he upholds the great comedic vaudevillian traditions.

The story is simple enough. Twelve year old Owen is left home alone with his older sister. Owen has suffered the loss of his beloved dog, before we meet him, and is forlorn. Plus he has been forbidden to get another because of his siblings’ allergies. With his parents away and his distracted older sister (Brittany Curran) nominally in charge, 12-year-old Owen (Luke Benward) is left to his own devices: He delivers the paper, dodges a school bully (Cameron Monaghan) and spends afternoons in a forest hideaway doing what twelve year old boys do; making up adventures, created inventions and daydreaming about the hermit in the woods. But his chance encounter with three robbers and a mistreated dog changes all that.

Owen bonds instantly with the golden retriever he frees from the cruel hands of three thugs (French Stewart, Kevin Farley, Kelly Perrine). Stumbling on a newspaper account of a diamond heist, Owen realizes the chief suspects are the bad guys he's just outrun. What's more, he deduces, they've stashed the loot somewhere on the dog, presumably on her gem studded collar. The actual site, disclosed later, is more unsettling but the specifics will be lost on most kids.

Having renamed the dog Diamond, Owen takes her to the police (Garrett Morris among them), who promptly dismiss his story. With the thugs in hot pursuit, the action culminates in a “Home Alone (1990)” style showdown and a surprise ending.

For what it is, there is very little not to like about DOG GONE. The filmmakers deal with many adolescent issues ( ike death, fears both physical and imagined, selflessness, loyalty, friendship and attraction to the opposite sex) in an entertaining yet sensitive way. The entire package is professionally done and Luke Benward even does a good job singing on the sound track. My only objection is the use of a trailer park to denote where the “bad kids” live. Otherwise this delightful throwback to the live action family films of the 1970’s is an excellent bet for parents hungry for family fare.