Strays
First things first: I knew going in that I was always going to be a sucker for “Strays.”
We’re a Boston Terrier family through and through, and I’ve always wondered what our dogs would say if they could talk. (I can’t be the only one who entertains these sorts of lunatic ideas.) So the notion of an R-rated comedy in which Jamie Foxx voices a street smart Boston named Bug who drops F-bombs left and right, gets high on mushrooms and humps discarded couches was pretty irresistible.
“Strays” is essentially a one joke movie, a last blast of summer. But it finds enough ways into that joke over its perfectly pithy running time to stay zippy and fun. The way it twists heartwarming dog adventure movie tropes is often delightfully inspired. And there’s great chemistry among the voice cast, especially between Foxx and star Will Ferrell, who had the rare opportunity to record together.
Director Josh Greenbaum showed his knack for out-there comedy with heart in the wonderfully weird “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar” (2021). He strikes a similar balance with raunchier material in “Strays.” Along with an ample amount of profanity, Dan Perrault’s screenplay includes lots of poop and pee humor (not all of which is entirely juvenile), vigorous humping and some wilderness mayhem that might be startling to some. But the film also touches on recognizing and escaping toxic relationships, finding self worth and reveling in deep, unexpected friendship.
I may have teared up a few times. Like I said at the beginning: Soft touch. Your mileage may vary on this particular canine road trip.
“Strays” begins on an upbeat note with narration from Ferrell as Reggie, an adorably scruffy Border terrier who doesn’t realize his miserable owner (Will Forte) hates him and keeps trying to abandon him. “Today is going to be the best day ever!” he declares in a cheerful tone that recalls Margot Robbie’s optimism at the start of “Barbie.” And it just so happens that “Strays” shares a similar structure with Greta Gerwig’s mega blockbuster Idealistic character leaves home, goes to the “real world,” makes friends, learns hard truths, returns to fix things with new knowledge. Only here, the protagonist’s mission is literally to bite off his owner’s penis a more violent form of eviscerating the patriarchy than Barbie could have imagined. Ferrell is essentially doing a version of his “Elf” character here, blending wide-eyed ebullience with deadpan observation and bringing his trademark sincerity to a silly role. As always, he’s a hoot.
After being dumped in a faraway city by his owner, Reggie finds an unlikely ally in Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx), who talks tough but insists he wants to be a stray and navigates the world with the strut of a little dog who thinks he’s big. Foxx has fantastic energy here, relishing every profane rant in his character’s musicality. Along for the journey are Maggie (Isla Fisher), an Australian shepherd with an exceptional sniffer; and Hunter (Randall Park), a Great Dane and former police K-9 who now works as an elderly therapy dog.
They swear and do terrible things, much of which you may know already from the trailer but thank goodness there are some surprises. The visual effects are seamless for the most part, all of those dogs (and their offscreen trainers) give impressive physical performances. Some of the CG in the face and mouth movements is distractingly jumpy and inconsistent, especially with Bug’s dialogue. Should we expect total realism out of a late summer talking dog movie?
The gross out jokes get a little repetitive, but “Strays” saves itself with an ending that’s warm without being saccharine. It has some nice observations about how dogs see the world fireworks, postal workers and might make you consider what that yapping Pomeranian in the fancy sweater is barking at in the dog park.
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