Dog Park (1998) User Reviews

"Kids in the Dog Park" Canadian comedy

[=G= · 5/10 · 9 June 2001]

"Dog Park" is a lukewarm, enjoyable, and critically condemned contemporary romantic comedy which is low on romance, has a quirky "Kids in the Hall" sense of humor (for obvious reasons), and spends most of its time looking at the foibles of relationships. An so-so watch for channel surfers in the mood some light off-the-wall comedy.

Odd but Pleasant, Worth the Rental

[noahk · 5/10 · 12 November 2000]

This is quite an odd film, but pleasant throughout due to the likeable actors and some laugh out loud moments. There are musings throughout about dating and love, none of which really hit the mark. The ending was somewhat unsatisfying, and loose ends weren't really tied up. In addition, Bruce McCullough, from Kids in the Hall, who directed and wrote the film, somewhat underutilized himself in the movie. He could have added some more hilarious moments for himself, but his Kids In the Hall partner Mark McKinney gets most of the laughs as a dog psychiatrist. I appreciated that it seemed to be trying something new in the field of romantic comedy, and was less predictable than many similar films. Overall, I did enjoy it and would say it is worth a rental, but I can't really justify giving it more than 6/10.

Would've seen it regardless...

[hungryhippo1970 · 5/10 · 22 October 2001]

I'm a big fan of The Kids In The Hall. I'm an even bigger fan of the "romantic comedy" genre. And, hell, sure, I like dogs, too.

However, while I loved watching the actors and actresses in "Dog Park" (great cast!), I had a problem watching the characters. More often than not, it seemed as if i was simpy observing people recite memorized lines they didn't really believe, while they moved from scene to scene without feeling or knowing why or how they got there.

Whether it was because of the writing, direction, or lack of focus, the movie itself, rather than the characters in it, ultimately seemed to have the biggest feeling of hesitancy and fear of commitment.

Human nature is going to the dogs

[inkblot11 · 4 August 2003]

Andy (Luke Wilson) has just been dumped by his girlfriend. To add insult to injury, she took the dog as well. Andy, not used to being on his own, meets Lorna (Natasha Henstridge) in a bar and a few sparks fly. Yet, Lorna, who has recently lost her boyfriend as well, is not interested in starting anything new and rejects Andy's advances. Jeri (Janeane Garofalo), as Andy's close co-worker, arranges for him to participate in a bachelor auction. Unfortunately, Kieran, loose and crazy, bids for him and promptly moves in with him. Complicated? You bet! Oh, and everyone walks their dogs in the dog park and takes their canine friends to obedience school with the same dog psychologist. Will the doggies get their diplomas even as their mixed-up owners try to straighten out their lives?

This is, by no means, a successful romantic comedy. Instead, it falls into the category of an interesting also-ran. The main characters are appealing (Janeane Garofolo looks wonderful) but the plot's haphazard storyline is always throwing in more loose ends without connecting them in a logical fashion. The humor is not laugh-out-loud but rather mild and quirky. Fans of romantic comedies will probably stick this one out and enjoy it. Luke Wilson's ever-growing fan club will want to see it, also. All others will be less enchanted and find it a off-beat diversion with no memorable qualities.

Flat, uninspired movie

[teaser · 1/10 · 22 May 2000]

When watching this movie I kept wondering how anyone would ever have released it. The movie was unfocused and flat and left me wondering what better things I could have spent my money seeing. The only bright side was watching Janeane Garofalo who still manages to deliver her lines and make them funny. If you were expecting another "Truth About Cats and Dogs" you will be terribly disappointed.

"Dog Park" no walk in the park

[vbasic · 3/10 · 23 September 2006]

I wanted to like this movie. It was an interesting concept of people meeting at a dog park as they struggled to establish relationships. There was good comedic actors and cute pooches. But since it was supposed to be a romantic comedy, I didn't see much comedy and even less romance. All the characters were struggling and not having much enjoyment in their relationships. The actors Luke Wilson and Janeane Garofalo did their job OK but were working with weak material. None of it jelled and some of the characters such as the dog trainer sounded retarded. The dialog was wimpy and desperate at times. Sad. Lame. Lame. Lame.

Somebody tell me how it ended

[ken98465 · 3/10 · 18 September 2000]

My wife and I are regular dog park visitors, and we rented this movie purely on the title. We hoped that Janeane Garofalo would be as good as she was in The Truth About Cats and Dogs. The Truth about Dog Park is that it ain't about dogs, it ain't about parks, it ain't funny, it ain't sexy, it ain't about Janeane Garofalo, and it ain't worth $1.99 on the discount rack.

enjoyable, even if a little mundane

[afj203 · 7/10 · 20 April 2002]

I thought that this movie was a bit far fetched, that it all fell together a bit to easily (as romantic comedies sometimes have a tendency to do). It's a little short on laughs, the emphasis is definitely on romance over comedy. However, Luke Wilson is, as always, charming, and overall the movie is an enjoyable, easy way to pass the time.

Dog Doo

[Mitch-38 · 3/10 · 29 January 2001]

Another cranked out, touchy feely, feel good, late nineties flick that's doesn't feel genuine, and at times, feels downright manipulative. The cast is indeed attractive (Luke Wilson, Natasha Henstridge, Janeane Garofalo, Bruce McColluch, et al), and that is the only way this movie would have taken flight. That noticeable block of 90's shallowness aside, the story is simply and weakly scripted. Way too many situational contrivances clog the script, and do not suspend belief in the least. It also makes for rather predictable viewing, as well. You might need a scooper for this one.

COULD BE BETTER -- LITTLE BARK

[tpmedia · 6/10 · 24 September 1999]

DOG PARK is a great concept with a decent cast and only fair execution. The characters are not likeable, not even the dogs. And the story is flat. It drags and skips and squirts. It's about as much dog dropping as it is fun. A few light moments, but mostly a yawn. Wait for the video.

Torture Device!!

[carnivalofsouls · 1/10 · 21 July 2002]

Remember in "A Clockwork Orange" when Alex is forced to watch horrible footage while his eyes are clamped open, well they should have shown him "Dog Park"!! - It's THAT bad! - Warning for the extreme Janeane Garofalo fans ... only watch it if the mere utterance of her name exacerbates your heart rate (who are probably thirty-five plus and live in their mother's basement and watch "Star Trek"). They probably screen this film in concentration camps. About as funny as a burning orphanage! In fact I'd rather be in a burning orphanage than watch this diabolical excuse for a film again ...

Unusual and charming. Explores the heart truthfully

[bopdog · 8/10 · 6 September 2000]

I liked it a lot. It's about people, not things or action or plot. That's uncommon these days, and should be applauded and supported by movie goers. People complain about f/x flicks, big cash blockbusters, and formulaic "lowest common denominator" pop-trash movies. That's a noble sentiment, but why not walk that talk? Why not get out to the theaters and pay to SEE movies that attempt to break out of the pop-culture molds? One of the reasons f/x (etc.) movies are almost all Hollywood makes anymore is because that's mostly all you and I pay to see anymore. Well, here's your chance to put your money where your mouth is and support something a little bit different.

"Dog Park" had a few annoying "snotty chick" cliches, but not too many, nor too bad. Whether or not this movie represents real life or not, I cannot say. Whether or not a movie, any movie, even SHOULD represent real life--who knows that, either? But, if art, good or bad, is designed to evoke a certain feeling, and certain vibes, then this movie does that very well. The specific events may or may not be "accurate," but the vibe and the results are.

Minor flaws aside-- and they are mostly mere quibbles-- this is a bright, charming, thoughtful movie about contemporary people. I think everyone could relate to, and benefit from, "Dog Park"'s exploration of the heart: its fear, courage, deadness, commitment and connection. I gave this movie an 8 out of 10.

This

Definitely worth a rental fee...

[jdwoodward · 7/10 · 6 March 2002]

Bruce McCollough (Kids in the Hall) has made an excellent directorial and writing debut. Whoever cast this film also did a formidable job; Wilson, Garofalo, and Henstridge are fantastic. Kathleen Robertson also slips comfortably from her usual 90210 persona to a very believeable, insecure, and even lovable character at times. The soundtrack is also great! So...spring for the four bucks and enjoy! I give it a very heavy "7" on the voting meter.

canine excrement wrapped in celluloid

[vidrip · 1/10 · 17 July 2006]

A truly dreadful movie in just about every way. Atrocious, amateurish dialog, bad acting by good people (how well can yo act when you have to spout those horrible lines), not a shred of reality or truth to anything that transpires. And the concept, if one can call it that, is warmed over Woody Allen with the dog thing - because let's face it - dogs are cute and people who like dogs or have dogs or want to have dogs - well, they're already swell people, aren't they? Miss this movie unless you want a crash course in how to write trite, unoriginal, cliché-ridden, sloppy, boring crud. So, no, I didn't really care much for it.

Some of these reviewers should join Critics Anonymous

[SquirePM · 30 September 1999]

Jeez, I think I saw a different movie. Let's see.....nope, it WAS "Dog Park."

Apparently we have a whole class of film students here who were given the assignment, "Pan a Film and Get Your Review Published" and IMDb was the only place that would put them in print.

Dog Park is fine. It's nice. It's even intriguing. Its humor is low key, except where it's laugh-out-loud, which was in several places when I saw it (25 yr. old black woman and 50 yr. old white guy, 15 rows apart, the only 2 in the theater; we laughed at different parts, but we laughed).

Luke Wilson is terrific, a curious blend of David Duchoveny and Bill Pullman. I'll go to his next movie. Natasha Henstridge can actually act! Brava!

OK, so it's not an Oscar contender. I go into a theater to enjoy a movie, not to trash it, and I enjoyed this one just fine.

How could this have happened?

[bgilch · 1/10 · 25 September 1999]

Bruce McCullough was the drollest, the most acerbic of the Kids in the Hall. He made the best vignettes--remember, It Was the Night of the Cow??

But with this film, he's produced a maudlin, agonizing bore devoid of laughs or insight. Painfully stilted acting and writing reveal a wholesale lack of mind at work. Ostensibly a sensitive romantic comedy, it's a mutt in need of paper. It makes The Truths About Cats & Dogs look like genius in comparison. McCullough proves he knows *nothing* about other people and how they live and act.

Euthanasia please.

Just terrible!!!

[leonardozeligbrazil · 1/10 · 14 December 2001]

Please do a favor to yourself and don't watch this movie Dog Park.It's a shame see good actors and actrisses working together in a so inapropriatte theme.If you are very patient maybe you'll watch the movie until the end but if you're not give up!!!I gave up. The story is completely stupid,there is this guy who never dates but oneday he meets Lorna(Henstridge) a beautifull and single woman.Then they go out at night and everything gets wrong.The bad thing of the movie is that dogs are the maincentral theme.The director add to the movie the most lunatic scenes with the animals,like:There is a dog named Moogley that goes to a shrink(!!!!)and he is in depression because he can't watch people having sex(!!!).Half of the movie is inside the shrink! Run away from this "motion picture" a classic of the trash!

Can't even photograph dogs well

[allyjack · 2/10 · 29 September 1999]

Desultory, horrifyingly generic movie, which can't even photograph dogs well. With the possible exception of McKinney's lugubrious dog psychiatrist, there's nothing in the film that's even faintly funny, and it's certainly not insightful - the attempts to tap a vein of contemporary romantic wistfulness are particularly lame. It's very hard to know what McCulloch had in mind with such a shapeless exercise. The dog park isn't exploited to its full potential, relegated to the site of a few lazy one-liners and a hopelessly messy finale. The odd promisingly deadpan scene (like Robertson's and boyfriend's discussion over whether to have sex or eat first) certainly don't generate any heat in practice. The most uniformly bland movie I've watched in ages (which, as the doting owner of a labrador retriever puppy and a regular visitor to the dog park, I was suckered into by the advertising).

Cute, quirky but awkward

[Morgan-10 · 7/10 · 13 March 2000]

This was a cute and quirky movie for the most part. It was a bit slow through parts and felt somewhat awkward. I like Luke Wilson in general and I'm a Kids in the Hall fan so with Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney there was that element too. Definitely not a great movie but not a bad renter.

A nice afternoon.

[suzy q123 · 5/10 · 9 July 2001]

I wouldn't class this with The Godfather, but it's a decent way to spend an afternoon. Filled with kooks and freaks (this was after all directed by one of the "Kids in the Hall") this movie ambles about pleasantly and manages to provoke a smile or two. I much prefered the supporting players to the leads, I found Natasha Henstridge and Luke Wilson a little stiff, but that could have been the script. There are not really a lot of dogs in this movie, so if that is your thing, go see "Cats and Dogs".

Date flick

[ctomvelu-1 · 6/10 · 7 July 2008]

Luke Wilson stars as a woebegone fellow who goes from one mating situation to another in DOG PARK. His gal pal has just left him and he meets Natasha Henstridge in a bar. One date, and she is done with him. He then runs into a blonde who loves to sleep around and is insatiable in the sack. Through all of this, he takes his dog to a dog park. He also is friends with co-workers Janeanne Garafalo and Bruce McCullough, who are a couple and may be getting married soon. Problem is, McCullough (also the film's writer/director) is cheating on her, which Wilson knows, much to his regret. The whole thing comes to a head in the dog park. The movie should be funnier than it is, and the drawing card -- Wilson -- sort of sleepwalks through it. Also, in reality, it is a chick flick and therefore unsuitable by viewing by real men. I made the mistake of watching it all the way through.

"The Truth About Dogs and... People. Hmmm, Might Have Been Nice. But... no."

[abyoussef · 2/10 · 14 May 2012]

by Dane Youssef

ONCE-TIME "Kid-In-The-Hall "Bruce McCulloch has one good-as-gold nugget of an idea here. 'Cause speaking from personal first-hand experience, the dog park is one special, magical place. The true place for any dog, dog owner and dog lover.

The dogs are given some amount of room to roam and socialize, good or bad. And so are their owners.

And you know.... movies are filmed all the time in Canada, American movies even! For the sake of wide roaming space and less cost. There are Canadian movies... made in Canada. But so very, very few.... But... this does.

Garofolo's pretty much just phones in the stock-type Garofolo role, knowledgeable about relationships and life with the usual sardonic wit. Except her usual genuine humor here is gone, thanks to her un-character and lines due to the "script" courtesy of McCulloch. She might have been better cast in the Lorna role. But no, Janeane has too much of a pulse.

Bruce actually gives himself a substantial supporting role as the "his" of a pathologically married "His and Hers" couple with Garofolo. She still seems almost human, almost possible. She seems to persevere through this incompetence.

He's always been a bad actor, but in skits, it's easier to forgive. And with this unfinished first draft of a script and monotone direction, all the actors more or less sink. These actors can act. But his movie manages to convince you they can't. So Bruce's horrible thespian attempts fit right in.

Every ounce of blame goes to the man who half-conceived this big ball of half-considered, unfunny awkwardness-- McCulloch. The characters, duller than dullest. Nearly every single line of dialogue and scene feels awkward and mishandled.

Not one person in this whole damn thing... comes off as believable. Or really all that insightful.

All throughout, McCulloch seems to lack the ability to write a decent romantic scene, a full-fledged written character or a line of dialouge that hears well. When it comes to writing personally, he should well- stick to skits. Or maybe just checks--if any of them are any good. Better than this.

"Dog Park" has no mood. Every scene is badly staged. It was so bad, I damn near expected this thing to have a laugh track.

While many of these types exist out there in the world (the sad-sack jilted lover, the cynical sage advisors, the seemingly perfect couple, the superficial couple, the weird oddball, the nypho and the love-scorn pessimist), the movie takes these stock-types and injects no humanity into them whatsoever. No one feels authentic, or even interesting.

Other Canadian folk like Harland Williams nothing special and especially awful. He plays the Neo-weirdo Lorna goes out with after she reaches that point when a woman gets so lonely and dying from cabin-fever, she rushes to go out with the first guy she sees. But after the date... he calls her back with a message she desperately, desperately needs.

But yes, Bruce and co. I agree wholly that Andy 'n' Lorna are made for each one another. These two, so boring--without any personality or interest--that you'd have to go the morgue to find people who are less alive. These two were made for each other. Two big empty non-existent zeroes.

Over the years, McCulloch has developed one tin cauliflower ear for dialogue.

As been said by pretty much every other on the planet who saw this, the only performance, character and scene of fellow "Kids In The Hall" brethren Mark McKinney as Dr. Cavan, an insightful and bizarre dog psychiatrist.

There's just not much about the movie overall. Just no real effort. No special insights about dating, relationships, nature--human or canine. No interesting people, philosophies about relationships or anything resembling a good movie-going experience.

Now if you'll excuse me, as I write this, it's 7:30 on the dot. The dogs are at the door, with Christmas morning anticipation. Tails wagging, eyes fixated on the door. It's time for our evening constitutional, the high point of our day.

As dog owners know, the local dog park is a treat. They're like late-night singles night clubs up in the city after hours. Anything goes, and often does...

--A Long-Time, Long-Term, Life-Long Dog-Lover, Dane Youssef

My Favorite Love Story

[JamesLisk · 10/10 · 19 May 2004]

My initial reaction to Dog Park was that it was a deeply personal film from a writer intent on conveying his own sense of loneliness and cynicism towards life and relationships -- accompanied by a glimmer of hope, conceded in a subtle connecting glance across a crowded park by the film's two protagonists. Dog Park is a very smart film with a real, albeit subtle, depth, which is missed by most -- as evidenced in the majority of the user comments. Close examination brings to mind another film, Medem's Los Amantes del Circulo Polar, and the provocative ideas it evoked about the circle of life, the role that coincidences play in that life, about fate, and pain, loneliness and the desire, ultimately, to find, and be loved by, that one special person.

A chance meeting in a bar by two lonely people on the rebound, establishes what will constitute the film's love story. Their meeting is awkward, and uncomfortable, and at least one of them is sure that they've seen the other before, somewhere, maybe "...at the dog park." They take some personal jabs at each other before the two settle into an introductory conversation and quickly realize that there is something surprisingly beautiful about that person sitting across from them. They segue to an apartment only to wind up in a bathroom where one of them is getting sick, while the other gracefully consoles them. Shot from high above the bathroom window, we watch as the two embrace each other, taking note that this is the last time they will grace the screen together for the good majority of the film.

The guy is Andy, played by Luke Wilson, an endearing serial monogamist who has been stranded in one romantic relationship after another since the eighth grade, engaged in a sort-of quest for that one special person to share his life with. He slowly discerns that his most recent 'bad date' might actually be that special person he has been seeking all his life, confiding to a friend about her, "Have you seen somebody in a certain light and you felt like you knew everything about them?" His corresponding love interest is Lorna, played by Natasha Henstridge, an equally endearing person who is so emotionally dented by one too many ugly break-ups that she can't even conceive of getting into another one. She wants true love, and realizes early on that she might actually find it with Andy, but is just unable to gamble being hurt again, best articulated in their post-date phone conversation where she shoots down his offer of a follow-up date. Her facial expression says everything, pointing out the divergence between what she really wants and what she is able to do. She is clearly caught in a personal struggle between her protective instincts and her desire to be loved -- and stranded in her own loneliness.

Along for the ride are several other characters, both human and canine, including Kathleen Robertson, Andy's ex, who has dumped him for a sex-obsessed loser, Gordon Currie, who just happened to be the fellow who dumped Lorna. There's also Janeane Garofalo and Bruce McCullough, the seemingly perfect couple representing, at least for Andy, the ideal relationship he desperately longs for -- that is, until it begins unraveling in front of him. There's also several interesting background characters, namely Lorna's bestfriend, Rachel (Carey), Andy's blustery girlfriend, Kieran (Lehman), and Lorna's Mr. Wrong, Callum, played Harland Williams, a contradictory sort, whose wild-eyed goofball antics are only offset by his extraordinary insightfulness. With the film's progression, it becomes apparent that these characters are inexplicably linked together by chance, romance and an unwavering devotion to their dogs.

Speaking of dogs, everybody in the film has one, or at least shares one, and all of them are seeking counsel from the local animal psychologist, Dr. Cavan, played by Mark McKinney, who plays the straight man to all the craziness going on around him. In a way he represents the audience, understanding partially the cyclical nature of what is happening; the dogs are showing signs of stress because they are reacting to their owners' stress. McKinney's straight-laced, pseudo-analytical antics and inability to relate to other human beings, including his own children, provide some of the more hilarious moments.

Cinematically, Dog Park walks the line between dark and quirky and completely hilarious. It also seems to be pushing some kind of bizarre cosmic diagram. McCullough seemed to have designed the plot around this weird 'life-is-cyclical' idea, mentioned before and evidenced numerous times throughout the film. Actually, I lost count how many times situations or elements are twice repeated in the film, each with a differing outcome. A pick-up story, 'exchanging phone numbers after an automobile accident' is utilized twice in the film, each time with a much different tone. Locations, lines of dialogue, dating habits and minor characters appear or are stated twice with their relevance becoming much clearer on the second go around. Even a number, specifically one-hundred, appears twice in the film, the first time it is used as a means to bring together a couple, the second, to keep apart. There's even a 'dating chain' which is elaborated upon by one of the characters, a sort-of celestial ecosystem that mathematically determines who does or doesn't find love.

Bruce McCullough is a very talented director who had a lot to say with this, his first film, and in my opinion, he hit every note perfectly. He understands the romantic comedy in ways that most directors don't, or ever will, conceding that audiences don't need to see the heroes engage in an endless kiss or stagger into a bedroom hell bent on a physical consummation. He understands that sometimes, really, all that is needed is that subtle adoring look across a park or a nervous smile exchanged in a crowded bar by two people who know they are meant for each other. Sometimes that all it takes.

I love this film!

Not your typical "romantic comedy"

[laura64 · 8/10 · 16 October 1999]

Bruce McCulloch, as writer and director, blew me away. I have always been a big fan of Bruce, but this really surprised me. Mark McKinney, having before worked with Bruce McCulloch, is fluid in the movie, though odd at times. I don't much care for the normal romantic comedies that you see, such as "You've Got Mail" to name one. Those all follow the exact same story line and get repetitive very quickly. However, this movie turns the term "romantic comedy" upside down. With it's heart-warming moments, and also its moments of humor (most easily understood by a Kids in the Hall fan), this movie really tops the charts.

Fascinating Character Piece Well Acted

[lexyladyjax · 9/10 · 16 July 2010]

If you're looking for more comedy styling of Kids in the Hall, skip this film. This film has wonderful acting by Luke Wilson, Janeane Garafalo, Natasha Henstridge, Bruce McCulloch, Kathleen Robertson, and Kristen Lehman.

Even the cameo actors shine like diamonds in this piece. Michael McManus has a walk-on as Derrick the waiter and if ever a man demonstrated that he didn't want to serve a table, he sold it perfectly.

Andy (Luke Wilson) is a journalist who's been in relationships without a break since grade eight. His girlfriend, Cheryl (Kathleen Robertson), has just left him for Trevor, taking with her their dog. Andy meets Lorna (Natasha Henstridge) unaware that her ex-boyfriend is Trevor. Lorna spurns Andy after a bad first date and regrets it immediately.

Andy has a wild and frightening relationship with Kieran (Kristen Lehman). One of the funniest lines in the film come from this strange interchange. Harland Williams as the quirky Cullum is a bright spot as an oddball date for lovelorn Lorna.

Most of these damaged people own maladjusted dogs. They visit the same dog park and they all go to the same dog psychiatrist (Mark McKinney). The dog shrink is the touchstone for all the lunacy in the film.

There are LOL moments and subtle humour. There is a single Kids in the Hall moment. It's quite subtle. Don't blink or you'll miss it.

Will there be a happy ending? Will Andy and Cheryl reconcile? Will Peanut the dog learn to come when she's called? Will Lorna die single and unloved? I'll never tell.

Peridot