Rent Red Dog (2011)

Animals, Community, Love and Death - Red Dog review by CP Customer

Delightful tale of animals, community, love and death, told in a leisurely, laid-back way with plenty of passages that raised a smile, and a few moments of pathos that touched our hearts. A film about people, a dog and a cat in a hard environment in the Australian outback, where friendship is what makes life worth living and homesickness, whether for a village in Italy or a lost loved one shows where roots run deep. But even when there's no going back, eventually the characters find a way for life to go on. Well-acted, well directed, and based on a true tale. We found this a film to relax and de-stress with.

How Come I Wasn't So Macho When I Worked on Big Building Projects.... - Red Dog review by The REAL Film Cricket

Minutes into the film and KoKo playing Red Dog obviously is going to be, and is, the real star of this film. You cannot help but smile at him and laugh at the things he does and instigates. This is the positive part of the film/story for me.

Unfortunately, ‘Red Dog’ very quickly clicked my mind into ‘you are being manipulated’ mode. For starters, the tale is based on a true ‘Australian Legend’ about a dog that rocked up in a heavy working community and did so much to ingratiate himself that he was never forgotten. The film makers obviously researched and knew the story – well I hoped they did.

Herein, like a lot of ‘true stories’, lies the rub, most of what happens in the film, that twists your emotions, makes your bottom lip quiver did not happen in real life. So it is lies told to manipulate you emotionally. No other reason. Cynical and dare I say done in the hope of getting a lot of money from big audiences.

Same reason that an American was the lead character and the love of Red Dog’s life. Who is the trying to win over – what huge audience are you trying to get?

Then top this off with other annoying stereotypical working-class men and I was already frowning. Believe it or not I have worked in a similar style work environment, thousands of blokes grafting on a huge site, working 14 hour days for 7 days a week. I never saw any fist fights or any men running around like some drunken body-building wrestler. Just chaps working hard, earning money and going home for a few days every other weekend. Nearly all of the ones I worked with were nice and would help you out as much as they could. Does not suit this stereotype though does it?

Boring and predictable? Yes, that vision of working men is.

The film is very episodic and tries to show how Red Dog effected people’s lives, even with romance and life changing events. They all seemed a bit over-the-top wishful thinking moments for me and thus any realism or concern as you viewed the screen faded away quickly.

Then, spoiler alert, the dog travels around the world, looking for his owner – somehow the people working at Dampier know where he went, but brush that aside, we then have a truly cartoon style fight with a cat. Honestly it was so unrealistic, so well out of place, it looked as it if was from Tom and Jerry, just not as much fun.

So Red Dog is another film that is very popular amongst its audience and I can understand why. If it were a work of fiction, I would be a little more easy going but this is a true tale that is entirely and clearly made up.

The acting in some places is okay, but I did get extremely bored of the macho men. Hardworking building industry men are not all like that. KoKo as Red Dog was fun. Also, the ending of the story is awful, mawkish and utter nonsense. I am adult for goodness sake.

Overall, I watched Red Dog, I am now not interested in the real story and I would never watch this film again. Funnily enough after watching The Penguin Lessons recently which is very similar to this tale you can see how writing and performing a story about the effects of a real animal on people that is fairly fictional can be made and it will still affect you in good way and will enjoy it.

Shame it took someone 13 years to get it right.