Married couple Olive Greene (Alicia Silverstone) and Clay Lonnergan (Ryan Kwanten) have amicably decided to separate, but when it’s time for Clay to move out they hit a major impass—which one of them gets custody of their dog Wesley?! Olive is granted temporary custody, but soon learns that taking care of Wesley isn’t as easy as she thought. So she seeks like the help of dog trainer Glenn (Randall Batinkoff), who’s also keen on starting up a relationship with Olive. Meanwhile, professional hockey player Clay spends his time helping his friend coach a boys hockey team while he tries to figure out a way to convince the judge that he would be a better “parent” for Wesley. Olive and Clay keep crossing paths as they must deal with shared custody until the judge makes her final ruling.
I really like the stars of this film, and the premise sounded like fun, so I was hoping for this to be really funny. While the film does have the occasional fun moment here and there, this is more of a dramedy than a comedy, and there wasn’t really enough plot or storyline to sustain the picture. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been a true comedy where Clay and Olive keep escalating the stakes with ridiculous schemes trying to get the dog from one another. Instead this ends up being a mild comedy with some weak drama, rather than the laugh-out-loud comedy it could have been.
The relationship between Clay and Olive isn’t very well established at the start of the film—there is no explanation as to why this couple is getting a divorce, or why they still remain so amicable as they separate. They seem more like friends/roommates and not a couple that has even been together long enough to be married let alone going through a divorce. Almost immediately after Clay moves out Olive starts dating again with the dog trainer, and Clay isn’t phased by this at all. They seem to both love the dog more than they ever loved one another. However, as the film goes along we are supposed to believe that this couple’s shared love for Wesley, and how they improve themselves in the process of trying to win over the judge, is supposed to fix whatever was wrong with their marriage and maybe help them rekindle their love?! The film just had too many plot holes and some overall lazy writing to be enjoyable. Perhaps pet owners might overlook this and just watch the film for the pet humor and antics, but there are far better pet films out there.
I was happy to see that the DVD included a Digital HD copy of the film. So, even though there is no Blu-ray release, fans can still watch the movie in HD if they choose (which is how I viewed it). The picture on both the DVD and the Digital HD copy looks quite nice. The audio track provides clear dialogue, and while this isn’t an effects-heavy film, the surround channels are used to help add ambiance to some scenes. Unfortunately there are absolutely no bonus features included on the disc or with the digital copy.
What’s Included:
Film: (1:35:42)
-
DVD:
- 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Digital HD copy redeemable via Google Play or Vudu (UltraViolet)
Digital HD (Redemption Deadline 9/27/2019):
Extras:
-
There are no bonus features besides the digital copy of the film.
Final Thoughts:
Who Gets The Dog? is a disappointing comedy that doesn’t do a good job of establishing the relationship between the main characters before setting up the main conflict of the film. There also isn’t enough plot to carry the entire film. The DVD includes an HD Digital copy of the film, but absolutely no bonus features. Those interested should probably rent it before making a blind purchase.
