By Alan Samuel
During summer most studios release upbeat happy films or superhero fare. In a bit of counter programming comes by way of Weiner-Dog from Mongrel Media. Even dog lovers would be hard pressed to “enjoy” this crafty Canine caper now barking up business at the Fifth Avenue Cinemas.
Stories about dogs and animals in general are normally happy pieces. Not this one. Heavy with a capital h is Weiner-dog, a tale about how one dog impacts four different people/families. Daschunds have a reputation of being a bit happy. This long bodied critter is cute and cuddly. Too bad the people who take this loving animal into their lives and personal space are about as uncouth and unlikeable as can be imagined,
Major stars like Julie Delpy, Ellen Burstyn and Danny DeVito are attached to this project alongside Kieran Culkin. Whether we’re talking about puppy training, blindness or desperate writers the creative team behind this effort have come up with exceedingly depressing characters that are grating. Blame here much be attached to the script which really tries to paint a picture of some bizarre dog owners. One only feels sorry for the dog because she clearly would want to run away from these wackos. So would you,
