The Films of Ken Marino

How to Be a Latin Lover

Dog Days (July 27/18)

Dog Days follows a multitude of characters and their shared connection of man's best friend, with the movie detailing the exploits of, among others, a slacker musician (Adam Pally's Dax) stuck caring for his sister's dog, an uptight television personality (Nina Dobrev's Elizabeth) who falls for her handsome new co-host (Tone Bell's Jimmy), and a recent widower (Ron Cephas Jones) who befriends a local teenager (Finn Wolfhard's Tyler) after his dog disappears. Filmmaker Ken Marino has infused Dog Days with a perfectly competent yet generally unmemorable sensibility that's allayed by the charisma of the various performers, with the movie also benefiting quite substantially from a relatively brisk pace and a smattering of amusing asides and subplots (eg a humorous recurring bit involving an awkward, depressive weather girl). It's clear, as well, that the decidedly familiar bent of Elissa Matsueda and Erica Oyama's screenplay contributes heavily to the movie's atmosphere of watchable mediocrity, and yet there's little doubt that certain heartwarming bits contained within the second half make a far more pronounced emotional impact than one might've anticipated - which is in itself no small feat, undoubtedly, given the narrative's somewhat predictable and paint-by-numbers feel (ie there's little that happens here one doesn't see coming from miles away). The end result is a pleasant enough timewaster that could've benefited from a pared-down running time (ie 112 minutes seems excessive), and it ultimately does seem as though the movie would work best at home on a lazy Sunday afternoon.