Strays

Directed by Josh Greenbaum, Strays follows four dogs (Will Ferrell’s Reggie, Jamie Foxx’s Bug, Isla Fisher’s Maggie, and Randall Park’s Hunter) as they embark on a mission to get revenge on Reggie’s abusive former owner (Will Forte’s Doug). It’s a fairly workable premise that’s employed to mostly underwhelming effect by Greenbaum, as the filmmaker, armed with a screenplay by Dan Perrault, kicks off the proceedings with an oddly downbeat opening stretch detailing Reggie’s mistreatment at the hands of Forte’s noxious figure, with the picture, beyond that point, progressing into a thin, episodic narrative that’s been suffused with one lackluster set-piece after another (eg the dogs encounter fireworks, the dogs are attacked by an eagle, etc). The ensuing arms-length atmosphere, which is exacerbated by an almost total absence of laughs, ensures that the picture’s few positive attributes are essentially (and effectively) rendered moot, while the growing inclusion of eye-rollingly hackneyed elements (eg a pointless fake break-up towards the end) paves the way for a somewhat interminable final stretch – which, despite an admittedly satisfying closing few minutes, ultimately does cement Strays‘ place as a rather misbegotten endeavor that could only have worked as a five minute SNL sketch.

** out of ****