'Dog' - Movie Review

Jackson Briggs (Channing Tatum) is a former U.S. Army Ranger who works in a fast food restaurant and desperately wants to go back into the Army, but suffers from a brain injury and PTSD. When his army partner dies in a car crash, he's told by his former commanding officer that if he transports their army working dog Lulu to his partner's funeral (1700 miles in a car), he'll be called back up. So off he goes with a dog he used to know who's also developed something similar to PTSD. Humour is made of Lulu's vicious and destructive antics and of Jackson's obnoxious behaviour.

The movie reminded me considerably of "Megan Leavey," another story about an army person and a retired working dog, although that one had less comedic intent. But this is a comedy-drama, so Lulu's antics force Jackson to re-assess how he views the world. Tatum is good in the lead, and the story moves along fairly well. I was put off by some of Jackson's most obnoxious behaviour (particularly the pretending-to-be-blind scene at the hotel that's in the trailer) and the deliberate cringe humour that went with it. Tatum was good, and they had (apparently three) very well trained Belgian Malinois dogs to play Lulu. Good, but I didn't love it ...