And, as that old, familiar saying goes - "Ugly (like beauty) is in the eyes of the beholder." Considering what this documentary's subject was all about (a contest in search of the world's ugliest dog) - I certainly thought that this particular presentation could have been a whole lot better than it (unfortunately) turned out to be. I'm not kidding.Yes. There certainly were some very entertaining moments in "Worst In Show", but, as things moved along, I quickly found that I just couldn't warm up to some of the irksome personalities of a number of the dog-owners who were in my face here for a good part of the time.Generally speaking - "Worst In Show" was a fairly mediocre production, on all counts.If this presentation had been handled more professionally (and not focused on the bickering of certain dog-owners), then, yes, I think "Worst In Show" would have been a helluva lot more enjoyable to watch, in the long run.Anyway - See for yourself. You just might think differently than I do.

This documentary focuses on the annual "World's Ugliest Dog" contest held in Petaluma, California. Like a lot of offbeat competitions, it started out as a quirky bit of fun for owners of strange-looking, so-ugly-they're-cute canines. But the subject matter, while funny on the surface, ultimately turns disturbing.For one thing, as in many contests, there are always a few competitors who take the whole thing way too seriously. In this case, one dog owner in particular comes across as an obnoxious self-promoter who attempts to monopolize all the attention at every contest. His aggressive campaigning tactics start off as funny, then become tiresome. He eventually comes off as one of those pushy stage parents in children's beauty pageants.More disturbing, though, is the exploitation of some of these dogs. Granted, some breeds of dogs, such as Chinese Cresteds, are simply more bizarre-looking than the average pooch. But many of the entrants have disabilities that contribute to their "ugliness"--missing eyes, blindness, visible tumors and warts, goiters, missing teeth, spinal and limb deformities, etc. It raises the question of whether some of these dogs are the victims of medical neglect by greedy owners who are more interested in allowing their dogs to remain "ugly" rather than seek medical attention for their illnesses and deformities.What starts out as a lighthearted look at strange, funny-looking creatures turns sour. Maybe a closer look at some of these overzealous dog owners is warranted.

The documentary follows the World's Ugliest Dog Contest, an annual contest held in Petaluma, California. Many people in different walks of life come to Petaluma looking to lay claim for the title of "The World's Ugliest Dog'. There is a list of characters like the 2002 winner Rascal, the veteran owned by actor Dane Andrew of Sunnyvale, California. Dane Andrew is borderline someone who wants to attains celebrity status at any cost through his pets. He really wants Rascal to win through self- publicity and promoting by going to celebrity's events, media outlooks and winning chest full of rewards. He is over the top competitor who probably taking the contest too far. Very self-absorbed, he has made an enemy of the owner of the 2009 champion Pabst. A boxer mix owned by Miles Egstad who ended the seven-year reign held by the Chinese Crested breed. While Miles enjoy his 15 minutes of fame, he doesn't take the contest too serious. They are join with other competitors such as Icky, a rookie dog owned by John Adler whom Mohawk match that of the owner. Another is Winston, who bears a scar across his head from Hurricane Katrina. His owner, Ashley, hopes winning the contest will spread the word about rescue dogs. Last is Princess Abby, a chihuahua with a hunched and peculiar walk due to that her back legs are longer than her front (which allows her to have moments of bipedalism), a missing eye, and mismatched ears. Kathleen Francis is the owner of Abby, a widow trying to get over her partner suicide by living through her dog. The movie also tackles the history of the event, by showing us with interviews with the owner of Sam, a blind Chinese Crested dog who voted the world's ugliest dog three times in a row, from 2003 through 2005 that made the event famous and well known. Then there was 2008 World's Ugliest Dog Winner named Gus that controversial win cause uproar in the pet community due to the fact that it was dying from Cancer. Some people felt morality that dogs that are sick shouldn't be the contest, because it prevent the owners to correct unhealthy features cause by disease, and mocks them. The perception of ugliness can be mistaken as mocking as the documentary tackle this issue. It's surprising for this movie to have an very low IMDb count, it should be higher. If anything could be held against the film, it would be the structure, as the competition part end mid part, and the rest of the movie is just profiling another dog and it's owner. The owner should had been integrated earlier to build a more natural progression to the plot and create a more effective climax. Though the tacked-on tale is touching, pretty much all the drama is basically over at that point, so you're just hanging around waiting for it to end. The DVD might cause a problem as there are no audio options or subtitles. Other than that, I can't figure out why it's so low. From the outside view, it might looks like they are making fun of the dogs of their appearance. As it shows in the documentary, these owners really do love their pets. Unlike the Best of Show, there is not discrimination against non- purebreds mutts. Mutts are allowed to participate in it. That's what makes this documentary worth watching. There was much love to the pets by their owners. None of them seems abuse by their caretakers. Every dog has it's day, even the ugly ones.

I just watched this last week & thoroughly enjoyed it. It's quite fascinating. It's about the Ugliest Dog Contest that takes place in Petaluma, CA every summer. I've lived in the same county for almost 16 years & this is the first I've heard of the contest. I may just go this year for the heck of it because of this film, even though I'm not a dog or pet owner(although I've owned a few in the distant past).The filmmakers interview the various contestants of the contest and you get to know them and their dogs. They follow a few of the owners who are REALLY into it and you find out somewhat of what makes them so obsessed with the contest and winning. Of course, there's some competitiveness between owners. And the dogs are great to watch and although ugly, have their own charm.Surprised this has rated so low so far with a 2.7. It may have to do with the quality of the film it was shot on which isn't the best. Also, I think the filmmakers could've gone further into finding out what makes the owners so into the competitive side of the contest. I think it deserves far better though. And I like the fact that the title of this film plays off the title of the fantastic film 'Best In Show' which is about a fictional dog show(I'd highly recommend it, if you've not seen it. It's hilarious & has a great cast). This doc is the real deal though!