Old Dogs
Two business partners and lifelong best friends, Dan (Robin Williams) & Charlie (John Travolta), are in the middle of the biggest business deal of their lives. When Dan finds out he’s the father of seven year old fraternal twins (Ella Bleu Travolta & Conner Rayburn) – conceived during an eventful week after his divorce that included lots of booze and a one day marriage – he impulsively takes responsibility for them after finding out their mother, Vicki (Kelly Preston), has to serve a two week stint in jail.
After seeing previews of Old Dogs, I felt it had a “Wild Hogs”-like feel, which was why it didn’t surprise me to see Walt Becker’s name attached to the directing credits of this one. Hell, Travolta basically played his same regurgitated character from Hogs in Old Dogs with the only difference being Charlie didn’t have the money problems that Woody (in Hogs) did. It didn’t detract from the homogenized comedy he and Williams brought.
The children were just barely more than props. They were just a plot device to set the stage for Williams and Travolta to showcase their comedic chops. Ella Bleu Travolta couldn’t have had an easier lay-up for her first movie. Not only were both her parents there for support and advice, the role she lined up was as easy as they come…she could have played Jack Black’s character in Tropic Thunder for the amount of impact she and her male cohort had in this film. As far as movie children go, these two were the best behaved kids in the world. The Department of Child Induced Mischief was apparently closed for this shooting.
The opening sequence was done very cleverly in my opinion. I can’t think of a movie that did it similarly or with the same seamless effect of not having to use a caption or blurb to marry a seven year gap to the present. The supporting characters were great in Old Dogs, specifically Justin Long as the crazed camp counselor with a vendetta against Charlie. I think I’m starting to love Long’s bit characters more and more when I see ‘em. The camping sequence was probably my favorite, though Old Dogs has plenty of laughs throughout. And the special effects team apparently just learned how to use Photoshop, going to the well with the warp and smudge tools one too many times for my taste.
The Slanted View: I made the mistake of looking forward to Ella Bleu’s performance, not that I expected a whole lot from her, or even Old Dogs for that matter. It was disappointing to find that a story about a father and his seven year old children he just met centered more around him and his friend instead. While it didn’t stop the laughs from coming, it did bother me that the writers were afraid to explore the relationship the premise was set on. If you want to watch a kids flick, check out Planet 51. If you want to see a buddy movie, check out Hear No Evil, See No Evil. Watch this one on TBS in a year when you’re bored.
