Of late, mainstream romantic comedies have tended toward being pretty raunchy, pretty sexy or both. “Dog Days,” hitting theaters on Aug. 8, may be the cleanest big-screen version of the genre I’ve seen in a long while.
Produced by crazy-busy studio LD Entertainment (“The Miracle Season,” “I Can Only Imagine,” “The Devil and Father Amorth,” “Forever My Girl,” “Megan Leavy”), and directed by Ken Marino (“How to Be a Latin Lover”), “Dog Days” looks at the crisscrossing lives of Los Angelenos, all linked by their love of dogs.
Is There Anything to Be Concerned About in “Dog Days”?
The PG-rated film features a couple of mild swear words, no visible sex (it’s implied, but nothing is shown), nothing even close to nudity, plenty of pooches and a bunch of hugs. It’s not a faith movie — aside from a brief rendition of “Amazing Grace” — but it is about modern relationships, family and making human (and canine) connections.
What’s the Story of “Dog Days”?
There’s newscaster Elizabeth (Nina Dobrev), who, in the wake of a breakup, seeks help from a deadpan canine therapist (Tig Notaro) for her small shaggy dog. She’s also coping with the arrival of a new co-anchor, former NFL star Jimmy (Tone Bell), who has a dog of his own. Barista Tara (Vanessa Hudgins) longs after a hunky vet (Michael Cassidy), but a lost Chihuahua throws her in the path of awkward customer Garrett (Jon Bass), a dog-rescue owner.
Soon-to-be-parents of twins Ruth and Greg (Jessica St. Clair, Thomas Lennon) foist their huge shaggy dog temporarily on Ruth’s hapless musician brother Dax (Adam Pally), who lives in the same building as Tara (how a barista and a generally unemployed musician afford huge loft apartments is beyond the understanding of this Angeleno, but I digress).
New adoptive parents Grace and Kurt (Eva Longoria, Rob Corddry) have a rocky start with daughter Amelia (Elizabeth Caro) until they get some canine assistance. Finally, there’s retired widower Walter (Ron Cephas Jones), whose overweight pug runs away, so he gets unexpected help from teenage pizza-delivery boy Tyler (Finn Wolfhard).
What’s to Love About “Dog Days”?
“Dog Days” includes some usual TV tropes — like low-wage people living in absurdly huge urban apartments, and very beautiful women paired with slightly less-attractive guys (but, to be fair, somewhat of the reverse does also happen) — and it takes few chances with its storytelling. That being said, I laughed, I got sniffly, and I was very happy at the end.
Along the way, I never winced, cringed, grimaced or had any of those reactions that modern comedies often elicit. While “Dog Days” is generally clean enough for middle-schoolers and up, it’s not really geared for kids. There is a kid in it, but it’s a sweet comedy about adults, made for a grown-up audience — but without the sleaze. When’s the last time that happened?
Actually, it’d be a perfect date movie, especially if your crush also loves dogs. I’d suggest that LD offer some outdoor screenings for single people, where they can bring their canine besties. Might wind up making some IRL love connections!
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