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'Good Boy!' unleashes harmless but forgettable fun
Owen (Liam Aiken) and Hubble (voiced by Matthew Broderick)
MGM Pictures
Director: John Hoffman.
Stars: Liam Aiken, Molly Shannon, Kevin Nealon.
MPAA rating: PG for some mild crude humor.
He might look vaguely expressive. He or she was a slight idealization of our own pets but was not required to fly, jabber or allow his facial expressions to be contorted by special effects.
At today's multiplex, where the quantity and degree of fantasy increases exponentially, a dog arrives from the planet Sirius in a flying saucer (a la "E.T."), chatters with other canines in an adult voice (the "Look Who's Talking" syndrome, but with dogs) and converses in a superior tone with his new owner ("Francis the Talking Mule" returns).
The latest spare parts movie is "Good Boy!," a live-action fantasy that director John (Robert) Hoffman co-adapted with Zeke Richardson from a Richardson story called "Dogs From Outer Space."
Lacking the dramatic heft and humane appeal of "My Dog Skip," "Good Boy!" exists in a world of adult nincompoops, child bullies and lyrics such as, "Dreams are nothing more than wishes." Let's wish for more substantial family films.
The space alien Hubble (uh-huh) lands on earth.
It seems the dogs dispatched to earth long ago were supposed to dominate the planet but instead became pets -- oh, the indignity -- to humans, whom they nonetheless regard as servants.
Hubble (voiced by Matthew Broderick), who can be heard only by new owner Owen Baker (Liam Aiken), 12, must rally the few visible pets (voiced by Carl Reiner, Donald Faison, Cheech Marin, Brittany Murphy and Delta Burke) to look like they rule the earth, at least long enough to fool her eminence, the Greater Dane (Vanessa Redgrave).
The fun is relatively harmless, including a toilet bowl gag, but of minimal substance and no interest beyond the target audience.
Owen, a conscientious dog walker, is the focus of neighborhood bullies for no apparent reason beyond the artificial imposition of threat.
With the exception of Aiken, the ensemble acting is unusually unnatural, a tack presumably intended to make the characters colorful. Owen's loneliness is linked to the fact that his parents (Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon) compulsively move every time the mother finishes decorating a home.
Excuse me, but are hers really homes where pets would be welcome?
