molly's alright with me, a great actress. movie is a fairly successful attempt at "black comedy", a serious but loopy look at dog worship...and obsessiveness in general.many opportunities to make this a 9er or 10er, but no, golden opportunities swoop in and...out. molly's next door neighbor is a taxidermist who gets up the nerve to ask out his cute neighbor, molly (who has lost her pet!). not gonna give the whole thing away, but does the Director "connect" her paranoia and his unusual hobby? (you'll find out). and why does the Director let molly become a Hitchcock character when just a very *neurotic but nice person* sells the character and story? if you love molly, buy the DVD now.

"Year of the Dog" is a quirky yet poignant comedy. It's not memorable for its laugh-out-loud moments (the few there are), but more for Molly Shannon's terrific and seemingly effortless performance as a woman who has spent her whole life trying to please everyone around her. It's when she finds a cause she believes in that she gradually learns that it's impossible to please herself and everyone else.Shannon is Peggy, a single, milquetoast, unassuming office worker who lives a quiet existence with her dog. You see from the beginning of the film that she has acquaintances, not friends. The camera shows people talking to her in the direct center of the shot, and therefore her eyesight. When the camera cuts back to Peggy, you normally see her just politely smiling and nodding, not responding.Peggy does not seem to mind this style of living. It's only when her dog dies of apparent ingestion of rat poisoning that her life spins out of control.You see Shannon crying a lot during these scenes, and she's very believable. Any person who has ever had a dog for a pet can understand how heartbreaking it is to move on from such a tragedy.From there, the story progresses well as Peggy finds herself going on a date with slovenly next door neighbor Al (John C. Reilly), only to find an open bag of rat poison in his garage that look like a dog went through it. She then gets to know Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), an animal shelter worker who keeps three misfit dogs at his home because he didn't want them to be put down. One of those dogs, by the way, rendered a smaller dog paralyzed. He, however, just doesn't want to see another dog die.Peggy apparently agrees, and begins a self-administered quest to live a vegan life. She brings vegan cupcakes into her office, has fellow workers sign petitions to ban lab testing, and even adopts every dog that is to be put down at her local pound.This film tells very little, and shows a lot, which gives it a lot of depth. The camera shots that represents Peggy's vantage points work amazingly well, considering how simple they really are. When Peggy, while at Newt's house, silently ponders photographs of Newt, one where he is with a woman, and one where he is with a man, no words really need to express what she is thinking. After all, the audience wonders the same thing.You also really feel for Shannon as her well-meaning acquaintances (Laura Dern, Regina King) gradually react to her newfound poli-social stance as if she's on drugs. You also understand the feelings of those who are not quite as sympathetic, such as her boss Robin (Josh Pais).In fact, Pais plays this role with a permanent sneer on his face, as if he's smelling something awful throughout the entire movie. He's one of those actors whose name is not well known, but you've seen him in other things. Still, after seeing this film, you will not be able to get his facial expression out of your memory.The extremes to which Shannon's character goes to protect as many animals as possible are just that: extreme. You can't help but feel for her as she tries to do as many right things as she can, only to find her life falling apart around her. The tragic irony surrounding this film is that she's not an alcoholic or a drug addict, but suffers similar consequences as a result of adopting too many dogs at one point.Of course, you don't blame her for wanting to save those dogs. After all, I'm a dog lover, and I hate to think about dogs dying simply because no one has adopted them. Then again, one dog is a responsibility, and the pet population, as you've probably heard Bob Barker say, needs to be controlled.The film does well balancing the empathetic with the slightly insane, as screenwriter Mike White tends to do with his more independent films ("Chuck and Buck" (2000), "The Good Girl" (2002)). White makes his feature directorial debut with this movie, and provides a great story with images that tell more than most CGI special effects. Even if you don't like dogs, you can't put this film down.

I get it. People suck. They are self-centered and shallow (Peggy's brother Pier and his wife), naive and superficial (Peggy's friend Layla), duplicitous and sleazy (Layla's boyfriend/fiancée), indulgent and callous (Peggy's neighbor Al), emotionally and/or physically unavailable (Peggy's potential love interest Newt) or just plain occluded (Peggy's boss Robin). So it makes sense that some good-hearted, love-starved people will turn to animals and their overall plight, as animals are indeed regular victims of a world that seems ---at any level deeper than merely cutaneous--- to barely function for ANY of its inhabitants, particularly its most complex denizens (who are directly responsible for its malfunctioning). I get it, because the movie sets this dysfunctional tone brilliantly: nice, sweet, kind-hearted Peggy's escalating transgressions and mental deterioration make perfect sense in that context. You root for her even as she commits criminal acts because you know it's gotta about more than just the sweet puppies and bunnies and kitties. You get it, and you can't wait for this set-up to address the far more complex fissures of which the plight of sweet puppies and bunnies and kitties are merely a symptom.Sadly, after having grabbed you by the heart and dragged you, transfixed, for 2 acts, this dishonest, manipulative pile of garbage suddenly turns on you, and rather than biting you on the hand like Valentine the dog does to Peggy, it just spits in your eye and then proceeds to dissolve slowly into a sticky puddle of simple syrup. Maybe writer/director Mike White chickened out once he realized exactly what he'd started, and chose to cruelly strip Peggy of a legitimate epiphany, having already dipped her in the lukewarm bath of an utterly fake ---and, frankly, preposterous--- breakdown involving excessive pet adoption. Maybe, but that may be giving him way too much credit.I recognized the very moment the movie started lying to me, and I can't recall the last time I've experienced such bald-faced gutless abdication of emotional integrity in all my life. Mike White took a character I cared about, and whittled her down to generic, pitiful Crazy Dog Lady/Pseudo-Activist, pathetically stuffing cute little doggies and kitties and bunnies and moo-cows into the sad brittle shell of her emotional void and into the larger existential vacuum that human selfishness and negligence and superficiality creates. She, and the audience, all deserved much better. PETA really could have used all the money wasted on this pithy nonsense to do some actual good. It would have been a far, FAR better use of that cash, and --BONUS-- then my time and emotional investment would not have been entirely wasted.

On the surface, 'Year of the Dog' looks like just another recycled dog movie. However, after reading the synopsis, I got interested and was expecting something light. But, what Mike White shows the viewer is a different side to loving your pet, a slightly darker side. I could definitely relate to Peggy's love and passion towards animal and rescuing them and I understand her frustration when she feels helpless as she learns of the cruelty against animals. At some point, her passion and dedication becomes an obsession and that's when things unfold towards darkness. To her, Pencil's death represented the death of more things than the loss of one pet.White does not take sides in his story. He does not preach to the audience to go and start taking in pets nor does he forbid it. He merely points out towards a possible side of loving animals, especially when that becomes an obsession and that forcing your beliefs upon others does not accomplish anything.Many have complained of how none of the characters are likable. I do agree to this but I must add that each and every one of them are at least recognizable and that makes them real enough for me.Molly Shannon acts with guns blazing. She is cast against type and her restrained performance adds to her versatility. A self-righteous Laura Dern, a not too smart chatterbox Regina King, a smug Tom McCarty, a not so neighbourly John C. Reilly and an impatient Peter Sarsgaard are all terrific in their roles.One shouldn't be deceived by what face value suggests. There's far more to 'Year of the Dog' than what is suggested. With excellent writing and direction by Mike White and a fantastic performance from Molly Shannon, this is worth a watch, whether one likes it or not.