Movie Review - Wiener-Dog

Wiener-Dog **½ (out of 5) (R) DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE TITLE. THIS IS NOT A FEEL-GOOD FLICK FOR KIDS OR PET LOVERS.

What’s more important than the Disneyesque title is knowing it comes from writer-director Todd Solondz, whose movies are mainly character-driven dramas with content likely to inversely correlate with their names. Happiness was utterly joyless; Fear, Anxiety & Depression was relatively amusing. Even so, they’re always intriguing, if you arrive in the right state of mind.

This eponymous pooch is passed among a series of owners, each of whom has problems beyond the ken (or presence) of the dog. Few of the humans are particularly likable, but their issues are relatable, and in some cases deserving of empathy. We learn little about the dog, who is largely unfazed by the psychological soup of her sequential masters. She’s the blank slate around which slices of their lives unfold.

The cast includes a handful of stars - Greta Gerwig, Julie Delpy, Danny DeVito, Ellen Burstyn - in four distinct episodes of succession, with a hilarious “intermission” sequence in the middle, and an ending that might stir some controversy. Now that you know what to expect - and what not to expect - from Solondz, you can more suitably decide whether to go, and who to bring. My work here is done. (7/8/16)