I was lucky enough to see a screener from the Hollywood Variety Movie Awards. I thought the movie was interesting since I heard comparisons to Air Bud 2: Golden Receiver, which is one of my favorite movies.
Enzo, who plays Mick, offers an amazing performance as a man out of time and place. In order to convey his displacement Enzo made the creative decision to say the dialog differently. Almost as though he wasn't sure what to say at times.
When you expect Mick to express subtlety, Enzo performs it heavy. When Mick is happy, Enzo delivers lines with confusing, angry, passion. I realized it was Enzo's way of telling us that Mick doesn't know where he is or what he's doing during his journey. It's a subtext for his struggles with drug and sex addiction.
Mick's relationship with his dog is sweet but overbearing. The 10 minute petting scene could've been cut by 9 mins. I'm not sure what that needed to convey. Mick's dog, Mr. Corndog, really steals the show with his lovable barks. The CG graphics used for the dog talking scenes were decent. I have to say I was not expecting that romance angle between Mr. Corndog and Mandy. It threw me off I have to admit.
Overall it's promising. The only thing I would change is the final scene where Mandy kills their son Jake in order to run off with the dog.
