“Strays” Review
Four dogs (voiced by Jamie Foxx, Will Ferrell, Isla Fisher and Randall Park) go on a journey of vengeance and self-discovery that includes experimentation with psychoactive mushrooms in “Strays.”
“Strays” is one of those films that you can instantly tell by the trailer whether or not you’ll enjoy it. If watching a group of dogs voiced by the likes of Will Ferrell and Jaime Foxx swear and partake in adult humor sounds like a good time, then you’ll most likely enjoy this film just enough. However, I went in expecting a decently fun summer comedy and was left feeling shorted. While there are some laughs to be had, the film mainly feels like a studio-driven film without a ton of passion or a consistent sense of humor resulting in a film that will probably leave you very quickly.
Reggie (Will Ferrell) is a delightful dog who loves his abusive owner Doug (Will Forte) who is sick of having Reggie bothering him. So, in a hilariously cruel move, Doug drives Reggie three hours away and leaves him in the middle of the city to fend for himself. After slowly coming to grips with his new identity as a stray, Reggie befriends three other dogs (Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park) and decides to go on the long journey with his new pals back to Doug’s to get sweet revenge on his former master.
Based on the premise, it would sound like “Strays” is full of humor that loves to be shockingly mean spirited and, at first, it is. Whenever the film relishes in the cruelty it can pass onto its canine leads, it’s a lot of fun. Will Forte is especially good at emphasizing this by playing the most pathetic douchebag who you want to see get his comeuppance. Other strong jokes in the film are the ones that try to be more surreal. As depicted in the trailer, there’s a sequence where the dogs eat hallucinogenic mushrooms and the payoff from this trip is so darkly funny that I dare not spoil it.
However, “Strays’” humor is mostly by-the-numbers with many of the film’s best jokes already being seen in the trailer. On top of that, many of the script’s jokes feel like they were from a dated 1990s script with lots of references to dogs humping or their bodily functions. I just feel that the humor could have been more outside-the-box but instead “Strays” goes for the lowest hanging fruit.
The script also has several contrived plot devices that grind the film’s 93 minute run-time (which should make it a brisk laugh-fest) to a halt. I still can’t believe that this film had the nerve to have the group of dogs fall out, split up and mope at the beginning of the third act. The reasoning behind this is basic and we all know they’re going to come back together anyway so what’s the point? Couldn’t we have had more time for jokes about how hearing fireworks makes the dogs feel like they’re storming the beaches of Normandy at the beginning of “Saving Private Ryan?”
Overall, what makes “Strays” reasonably watchable are the 50% of jokes that do stick the landing and the acting. Not only were the real dogs trained and used well on set but the voice actors match up pretty well. Will Ferrell does his usual wide-eyed naive protagonist that is charming enough, Randall Park and Isla Fisher are fun in their supporting roles and, by God, I would love to have been in the recording studio to watch Jamie Foxx read these lines. Many of the laughs I got from “Strays,” I got from Foxx and his inane energy.
As the summer season winds down, if you were looking for a fresh comedy with likable personalities and a sick, raunchy sense of humor that has you laughing all the way through, you should have watched “Joy Ride” when you had the chance. Or you could save your money for “Bottoms.”
