Old Dogs

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray & DVD

Release: March 9, 2010

Rated: PG

Runtime: 88 Minutes

Old Dogs, play dead! Play dead! Good boy!

The Movie:

I knew what I was going to get myself into ahead of time. Only the difference was I actually thought I would've enjoyed this movie. I say that because, as bad as the movie Wild Hogs was, I actually liked it. And I figured that a movie having Robin Williams and Seth Green, couldn't really be as bad as I had heard and read about. Damn, I was wrong.

The movie is about two businessmen and lifelong friends, Charlie and Dan (John Travolta and Robin Williams), whose lives get turned upside down when they learn that Dan had fathered twins in his short-lived marriage. With Dan's ex-wife about to go to jail for two weeks, Dan is left to care for these seven-year-old twins while him and Charlie are on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives. The clueless guys stumble trying to take care of these kids, leading to one disaster after another.

This movie should be good! Considering it has cameos from Bernie Mac (in his last role), Justin Long, Matt Dillon, Dax Shephard and Luis Guzman. They are the redeeming qualities of this movie, but they cant save this movie. Unfortunately, this movie tries so hard to make the audience laugh, and there barely any moments that payoff. I can say there were a few scenes that involved Robin Williams and Seth Green that were kinda funny, but not funny enough to make me forget how bad this really was! Plus the acting was so over-the-top, it was terrible!

This movie could've had the potential to be really good. The concept is basically the working man that knows nothing about raising children, now has two children thrown at him and he needs to become as successful of a father as he is as a businessman. Simple enough, right? Well, not in this movie. Instead we are just given really un-funny jokes about Dan and Charlie being old. Maybe if this movie was directed by someone other than Walt Becker, the man responsible for Wild Hogs, then maybe this wouldn't have been a disaster.

The movie claims its a "laugh-a-minute" comedy. More like a "gag-a-minute" comedy that never makes you laugh. Just give this movie to your dog and let him bury it in the backyard where it belongs!

Presentation:

The film is presented in full 1080p with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It's rare to come across a Disney blu-ray that looks bad. Thankfully, as bad as this movie is, it did look good in HD. The image is very sharp and polished. The detail on the different locations and facial shots look great. Colors are strong and pop. Overall, its a great looking transfer.

Audio:

There's a Dolby 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track and also an English, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track. The dialogue comes through crisp and clear. The soundtrack sounds good, but can really be overbearing at times. Same can be said for the sound effects. As good as they sound, at times it sounds like the sounds were given enhancement to give it that extra oomph.

Bonus Material:

This three-disc set is broken down with Disc 1 being the blu-ray disc which contains the movie and bonus features, Disc 2 being the DVD copy with some of the bonus features and Disc 3 is the Digital Copy disc.

• Audio Commentary - Featuring director Walt Becker, producer Andrew Panay and writers David Diamond & David Weissman. I didn't enjoy this movie. And seeing that this commentary didn't include any of the actors, I couldn't bring myself sitting through another 90 minutes of this movie, this time just listening to the writers and directors.
• Bloopers (1080p, Runtime 2:26) - Bloopers are usually funny...these were not.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, Runtime 3:30) - A total of three deleted scenes that consist of an airport cavity search, dog pate, and an alternate ending.
• Music Videos - "Every Little Step" by John Travolta and Ella Bleu Travolta & "You've Been A Friend To Me" by Bryan Adams
• Young Dogs Learn Old Tricks (1080p, Runtime 2:50) - Ella Bleu Travolta and Conner Rayburn interview John Travolta and Robin Williams.
• BD-Live

Bottom Line:

A terrible and un-funny movie packaged inside a good looking and good sounding movie with a good cast and good supporting cast. The extras are really disappointing. Skip this movie, or if you really have to see this, give it a rental. Consider yourself warned!