DOG OF WAR

Opening this week...

Dog--Although the title character has a name, Lulu, for most of this movie's length star Channing Tatum just refers to her by the titular monosyllable. She's a Belgian Malinois and a traumatized U.S. Army combat veteran. Briggs (Tatum), a similarly damaged former Army Ranger, agrees to drive the dog from the northwest to Nogales, Arizona to be present at the funeral of her former partner. After that, she's slated to be put down.

As you can guess, the trip does not go smoothly. Briggs and the muzzled, restrained, snarling Lulu stumble into episodic wacky adventures down the coast. They encounter woke tantric types in Portland and paranoid weed-growing hippies in northern California; Briggs even poses as a blind man, with Lulu as his service animal, to get a good hotel room in San Francisco. Through it all, of course, this boy and his dog gradually bond.

Co-directed by Tatum and co-screenwriter Reid Carolin, this movie, the release of which was delayed for more than a year, is being marketed as a comedy, and there are broad, heavy-handed scenes in which Briggs is the slapstick butt of the dog's mayhem. In general, though, the film is more poignant and compassionate than might be expected; its concern with the plight of PTSD-afflicted veterans, both two- and four-legged, is at the core of the film.

Tatum is also at the core. I've always liked him; his dim, sweet manner suggests a deep decency. But he's pretty much the whole show here. The supporting characters, like the hippies and Portlanders, are stereotypical--though not mean-spiritedly so--and also fleeting. A large percentage of the film is just Tatum, nattering away to the dog, like one does. He makes Briggs a surprisingly layered characterization, and he shows that he can carry a movie all by himself.

Well, not all by himself. Part of what makes the film so touching are the reaction shots of Lulu's soulful face. Tatum is never likely to have a more beautiful leading lady.

LET SLIP THE DOG OF WAR

Opening this weekend:

Max—The title character is a Belgian Malinois, which looks like a dark-faced German Shepherd, who suffers from PTSD after deployment to Afghanistan sniffing out Taliban weapons caches for the Marines. He gets adopted by the Texas family of his late handler Kyle, and bonds with Kyle’s younger brother Justin (Josh Wiggins), a snotty video-game junkie (and bootlegger).

Working with the dog gives Justin a better attitude, and a sassy but truehearted young girlfriend (Mia Xitlali) with a talent for dog training—the house where she lives is full of Chihuahuas, and if she can train them, I say she’s a true whisperer. Unfortunately, one of the handler’s fellow Marines is a low-down dirty crook with a grudge against Max, and now that he’s back stateside he pollutes the dog’s reputation with Justin’s Dad (Thomas Haden Church). Pretty soon Max, Justin and their friends are running for their lives from a bunch of arms-dealer heavies and their attack Rottweilers.

This corny, very old-fashioned boy-and-his-dog tale was co-written and directed by Boaz Yakin, who, back in his memorable 1994 directorial debut Fresh, showed us a dog being hanged. The canines here have it rough too, which may be difficult for the many people sensitive to depictions of animal suffering. The (seemingly smaller) segment of the audience sensitive to bad dialogue may have a hard time with the excruciating attempts at adolescent banter and dysfunctional family squabbles.

If you (and your kids) can get past all this, however, Max is quite enjoyable on its own terms—nicely shot by cinematographer Stefan Czapsky, with exciting action scenes, and as well acted as can be expected considering the clumsy, self-conscious dialogue. The standout performer is “Carlos,” who principally played Max—what a beautiful creature, and what soulful, convincing, heart-wrenching performance Yakin and the trainers elicited from him, and from the several other dogs who contributed to the role.

At the less glamorous end of the cast, it gave me a pang to see Lauren Graham, lovely and beguiling star of Gilmore Girls, playing the drearily conventional part of Justin’s Mom. Who would have thought that the delicious Graham would end up second fiddle to a 21^st-Century Rin-Tin-Tin?

One other note: At the screening of Max that I attended Kyrsten Sinema, Representative from Arizona’s 9^th Congressional District, spoke briefly before the film in support of The Military Working Dog Retirement Act, which she co-sponsored. This seems to me legislation to which almost anyone, regardless of political persuasion, could lend their support. Except, of course, for meanies who hate dogs.