Today’s post begins with a fractal image called Patriotic Paisley. The red-white-and-blue color palette seemed to work for a review of Underdog. (Yes, I know I’m reaching here--but picking fractals for this review isn’t as easy as it looks!)
-
Underdog began life as a cartoon with limited-animation (very limited) in the 1960s. It was the story of humble “Shoeshine Boy” (voiced by uber-nebbish Wally Cox) who took a blue pill to gain the powers of Underdog, He fought the evil Simon Bar Sinister in "Capitol City" while romancing reporter Polly Purebred. There was no origin story or explanation why evil Dwarf Bar Sinister seemed to be the only human populating a world of dogs (or why Underdog and Shoeshine Boy only spoke in rhyming couplets) but it left us with the famous catch phrase: “Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a frog!”
-
In 2007 we finally get the back-story we’ve been wanting for (ha!) as Underdog is re-invented as a live-action movie. In the new big-screen version a nameless bomb-sniffing Police Beagle (voiced by My Name is Earl star Jason Lee) finds himself in disgrace and ends up captured by Simon Bar Sinister (Peter Dinklage) and his musclebound and muscle-headed henchman Cad (Patrick Warburton acting vaguely gay in platinum-blond dye job). An unlikely accident gives the dog super powers. Escaping from Bar Sinister’s lab (and destroying it in the process) the dog is adopted by a sad-sack ex-cop turned Security Guard (who’s character name I have already forgotten) played by Jim Belushi: it’s his idea to name the dog “Shoeshine” (in a nod to the cartoon). The cop has an equally depressed teenage son Jack (played by Alex Neuberger) who is even more disengaged than his father. Jack develops an unlikely friendship with spunky girl reporter Molly (played by an actress I can’t remember) while Shoeshine falls for her King Charles Cavalier Spaniel Polly. Polly has a mad crush on Underdog but only wants friendship from Shoeshine although how she fails to realize both dogs are the same being eludes me. (Dogs are supposed to have keen senses of smell that should have been a dead giveaway.) As the story progresses we see how Underdog got his costume and learn why he speaks in rhyme: eventually Underdog‘s powers come from a little blue pill (although the pills aren‘t in a hidden compartment of a ring). The story wraps up as you’d expect it to with the good guys living happily and the bad guys in jail.
-
I had a couple of serious problems with the movie--chief among them that it just wasn’t fun. Peter Dinklage and Patrick Warburton are the only acts who seem to be enjoying their roles. Jim Belushi looks an acts like a complete schlub and there’s no real chemistry between him or the actor playing his son. (At leas they both have the same Chicago accent--a nice touch, for me at least). Alex Neuberger plays a disaffected teenager well but I don’t buy his relationship with Polly, his father or even the dog. The Beagle is cute as can be but the movie spends way too much time watching Underdog develop his powers. It was fun to see bits from Superman and Lady and the Tramp. Sadly, these swiped bits (some might label them an homage) are symptoms of the movie’s complete lack or originality.
-
Underdog is a great movie for kids 12 and under: I saw it in a theater full of kids and they all loved it. Adults can tolerate the movie but they’ll likely think they’ve seen it all before. It’s a pleasant-enough diversion but hardly worth going out of your way to see. Rent the DVD when it comes out but don't buy it unless you have children or love dogs.
-
FINAL GRADE: C
No comments:
Post a Comment