Written by Elissa Matsueda and Erica Oyama and directed by Ken Marino, the new comedy "Dog Days" (LD Entertainment) is comprised of a number of vignettes, following a variety of Los Angeles residents as they navigate life through a summer of challenges. Helping them in their times of need are their loving canine companions.
We first meet Elizabeth (Nina Dobrev), owner of Sam, a cute little terrier who barks happily at the TV when he sees Liz there as the host of "Wake Up, LA!" When she loses her cool during an interview with NFL star Jimmy Johnston (Tone Bell), owner of Brandy, the studio assigns Jimmy as her co-host. She's not pleased at all.
Then there's Ruth and Greg (Jessica St. Clair and Thomas Lennon), owners of Charlie. Ruth is pregnant with twins and going through all the mood swings involved, even to blaming Greg for her condition, not in a nice way. Unfortunately, the interaction between Ruth and Greg, even though meant to be comedic, portrays an attitude toward marriage, pregnancy and children that might turn off some Catholic viewers. They ask Dax (Adam Pally), Ruth's brother, to watch Charlie after the babies are born. He agrees although he thinks he might not be up to the task.
Next in line is Tara (Vanessa Hudgens), a barista who hopes to be able to put her college degree to good use someday. She finds an abandoned dog behind the coffee shop's dumpster, and takes it to the dreamy veterinarian across the street, Dr. Mike (Michael Cassidy). Meanwhile, rescue dog agency owner Garrett (Jon Bass) just wishes Tara would notice him.
When pizza delivery boy Tyler (Finn Wolfhard) meets Walter (Ron Cephas Jones), owner of Mabel, he's not impressed. Walter complains that the pizza should be free since the delivery wasn't made within the 30-minute guarantee. Tyler leaves muttering, "This is why kids don't like old people." Meanwhile, Grace (Eva Longoria) and Kurt (Rob Corddry) worry about making a good impression on their newly adopted daughter, 5-year-old Amelia (Elizabeth Caro).
For the remainder of Sister Hosea's review of "Dog Days," please click here. This article was first posted by Catholic News Services. Thanks to CNS for permission to re-post it here.
About the Author
Sister Hosea Rupprecht is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul, a religious community dedicated to evangelization with the media. She holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto and an MA in Media Literacy from Webster University in St. Louis.
Sr. Hosea is director of the East Coast office of the Pauline Center for Media Studies, based in Staten Island, NY, and speaks on media literacy and faith to catechists, parents, youth, and young adults. Together with Father Chip Hines, she is the co-host of Searchlight, a Catholic movie review show on Catholic TV. Sr. Hosea is the author of How to Watch Movies with Kids: A Values-Based Strategy, released by Pauline Books & Media.
For the past 15 years, she has facilitated various film dialogues for both children and adults, as well as given presentations on integrating culture, faith and media.