Red Dog

Release Date: 24 February 2012

Directed by: Kriv Stenders

Starring: Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Noah Taylor, Luke Ford

Okay, before I get into this can I just say what everyone is thinking? That dog looks evil, right? Cujo's cousin or what? Now that that's out of the way – Red Dog is your latest 'dog movie' and just like the rest it has a way of wiping away your cynicism for ninety minutes. Red Dog isn't your average dog and before you go thinking that Red has rescued babies from bush fires or piloted planes safely to the ground, no – he's not that kind of dog either. But he is a legend, certainly in the dusty north west Australian mining community of Dampier where the locals speak in reverential tones about their adopted mascot.
A trucker pulls into Dampier for a beer and finds the locals about to shoot a dog; the dog has been poisoned and the men want to put the poor thing out of its misery. They can't do it, though. A vet is called and the outlook isn't good – the dog mightn't make it through the night. What's all this guff about a dog? Well, the trucker is told by all present how much he means to the community and through flashback, the story is pieced together of how this ordinary dog became a living legend...
Simple name, simple movie. Based on a true story of a dog who wandered over the north west of Australia in the 70s searching for his master (Josh Lucas), Red Dog is a charming family drama with enough fart gags and pratfalls to keep the kids grinning, while there's a romance between Lucas and Rachael Taylor the adults can enjoy. The soundtrack is great too.
However, apart from Red Dog looking like has been sent to Earth by Beelzebub to do his bidding, the other downside is that he doesn't get up to much. It really is an ordinary dog, but it's how the locals see the dog is the important thing and it's fun to see grown men with moustaches thicker than your head talk to Red like he was a person, divulging their innermost thoughts. So dog lovers everywhere unite as cats get the short shrift with the only moggy in sight is of the despicable cantankerous sort.
Red Dog is a decent dog movie but for the best see the super odd but devastating Dean Spanley.

Review by Gavin Burke