"Dog" satisfies Tatum groupies and dog lovers

Dog (2022)

Channing Tatum and a military dog in the same movie? Say no more. Generic title aside, “Dog” is very much an easy sell for Tatum groupies and dog lovers alike, and it's a bit more substantive than how the feel-good ads are selling it. It's still pretty shameless in its aim to pull—no, yank—at your heartstrings, but also effective on the pardonable side of sentimental. As a personal story told smoothly enough, “Dog” gives audiences exactly what they signed up for, nothing more and nothing less.

Making his co-directing debut with producing partner Reid Carolin (who wrote the "Magic Mike" movies and co-wrote this script with Brett Rodriguez), Channing Tatum is front and center as Army Ranger Jackson Briggs. Being on disability after a concussion and still dealing with neurological damage, Briggs longs to return to active duty after celebrating the life of a comrade who has just passed away. When learning that his buddy's combat dog, a Belgian Malinois named Lulu, was left behind, Briggs accepts an offer if his commanding officer promises to put in a good word for him. All he has to do is transport Lulu, a PTSD-ridden handful, from a Washington military base to the late handler’s funeral in Arizona where she’ll then be euthanized. With a muzzled Lulu in the back of his Ford Bronco, Briggs hits the road down the Pacific Coast, making a road trip out of it while too often forgetting that Lulu needs as much attention as he does. By the end of the road, Briggs will realize how much he needs Lulu. 

As a redemption road movie with some mismatched-buddy comedy, "Dog" is as episodic as expected and only just steers clear of becoming maudlin. It certainly gets to where it wants to go, but not without a few bumps in the road, as some of the detours are tenser, more interesting, and more surprising than others. One of the first stops is in Portland, where Briggs tries having a tantric threesome with two New Age roommates (Emmy Raver-Lampman and Nicole LaLiberte) who instead focus on his battle scars, while Lulu barks away in his truck. The film seems to then enter dangerous territory when Lulu runs off into the woods and we feel like we're watching something out of a captivity horror film. As it turns out, that isn't the case and one wouldn't mind watching an entire movie about cannabis farmer Gus and psychic reader Tamara, played with quirky warmth by "Magic Mike" alumnus Kevin Nash and Jane Adams.

Up until now, first-time co-directors Tatum and Carolin have toyed with expectations a little here and there in terms of tonal shifts. But when Briggs and Lulu make it to San Francisco, the movie particularly grinds to a halt with its cringe-inducing section at a luxury hotel. For strained conflict, Briggs poses as a blind man, complete with glasses, a white cane, and Lulu as his guide dog, just to get a free room from the pretty concierge. Though Lulu is just doing what she’s been trained to do (like taking down a Muslim doctor walking through the lobby because he's wearing a traditional thobe), the filmmakers’ injection of a broad, wacky comedy bit into a key moment of racial profiling does not sit well. The next few scenes certainly try to make up for it when Briggs gets arrested and has his feathers ruffled by a police officer (Bill Burr), but one wonders why the whole scene wasn’t just rewritten or excised altogether. A more naturalistic section is the reunion between Briggs and a fellow veteran (played by Ethan Suplee), who adopted Lulu's brother as his own military dog. Tatum and Suplee's scenes together with their dogs more efficiently address how combat changes a veteran's life. There is a moment of tension in this otherwise nuanced stop involving stolen valor, and even that conflict is much more convincing than the San Francisco debacle. When Briggs begins to recognize Lulu as the military dog that she is, learning what makes her tick and what calms down her anxiety, and he and Lulu begin healing each other, “Dog” is most comfortable and affecting. 

The success of “Dog” ultimately comes down to a simple litmus test that could double for a Tinder profile: “must love dogs” and “must love Channing Tatum.” While Tatum has tested his emotional range more so in other movies (“Foxcatcher”), the actor gets to be his swaggy, charming self, while capably depicting Jackson Briggs’ mental and physical trauma with honesty and vulnerability. His arc from a broken man, foolhardy womanizer, and heavy drinker to someone who needs a companion like Lulu by his side is not hard to care about. Tatum might be the star, but Lulu is expertly played by three different Belgian Malinois dogs (Lana, Britta, and Zuza). In the long run, “Dog” does manage to ambush one’s defensive walls, and the destination actually feels earned. Cynics should still stay home.

Grade: B -

United Artists Releasing is releasing “Dog” (101 min.) in theaters on February 18, 2022.