Channing Tatumis pleasant to be around, so we understand why a dog would like him. We like him too, and that, basically, is the appeal of the new movie “Dog.”
It’s the story of a young veteran and aBelgianMalinois making a road trip from an Army base in Washington, D.C., to a funeral in Arizona. Both the man and the dog have been to war, and both have returned with scars. The man has been wounded several times, but he’s doing OK. The dog is completely traumatized.
The movie was co-directed by Tatum, who apparently has a sophisticated understanding of his own appeal — manly but funny, serious but self-deprecating, from Middle America but urbane. In another generation,克拉克Gablecould have starred in this movie.
Tatum plays Briggs, an Army Ranger who has been out of action because of a brain injury. He is recovering, but he still gets blurred vision when under stress. His one goal in life is to be readmitted into the Rangers, because he has no idea what he’ll do with his life otherwise.
When a fellow Ranger dies — presumably, a suicide — Briggs’ commanding officer (played by Luke Forbes) assigns him to drive the man’s dog to the funeral. If Briggs can manage that, he can come back to the Rangers, but it won’t be easy. The dog, also a Ranger, attacks everybody and won’t stop barking.
Once the set-up is in place, “Dog” becomes the story of a road trip, and watching it is as pleasurable as being in the passenger seat: About 20 minutes of that would be OK, but that’s enough. “Dog” would have been ideal at 60 minutes, and it’s too bad that movies aren’t allowed to find their own length.
Don’t see “Dog” if you particularly dislike the sound of a barking dog, because, aside from Tatum, the dog has most of the dialogue. Conversely, if you have a particular affection for dogs, that might be enough to get you through the slow spots — and “Dog” is mostly slow spots.
Along the way, there are a series of little episodes, where Briggs and the dog encounter various people and have little adventures. These are mainly there to stretch the running time, but, like “Dog” itself, none are boring and all are fairly pleasing. The funniest sequence takes place at Los Angeles’ Biltmore Hotel, where Briggs pretends to be a blind veteran in order to get a free room.
There should be a special category for movies, like “Dog,” that are hard to enjoy but easy to take. They’re not entertainment. They’re more like a vague form of companionship. They aspire to little but demand nothing, and, if you like, they can keep you company. You can’t call that a good movie, but you’d have to be a creep to call it a bad movie. In a sense, “Dog” is kind of like a dog.
Tatum is like a big dog himself, but one that can do tricks. For long stretches, he’s by himself on that screen; it never once occurs to us that he’s doing everything, that he’s holding the screen with no help from anybody. Tatum makes acting look as simple as breathing.
L“Dog”:喜剧。钱宁·塔图姆主演和路加福音bes. Directed by Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin. (PG-13. 90 minutes.) In theaters starting Friday, Feb. 18.