Year of the Dog (film)
Encyclopedia
Year of the Dog is a 2007 comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike White, and starring Molly Shannon
, Laura Dern
, Regina King
, Tom McCarthy
, Josh Pais
, John C. Reilly
and Peter Sarsgaard
. The film describes the process of a woman that goes from having one pet dog at home to becoming a vegan
and an animal rights
activist.
It premiered January 20, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
.
) whimpering in pain. She takes him to a vet but it is too late; Pencil dies of toxic poisoning.
The people in her life react with sympathy but mostly make her feel guilty for her grief. Best friend Layla (Regina King
) tells Peggy her relationship with Pencil had held her back from finding romance. Her emotionally sterile sister-in-law (Laura Dern
) and brother Pier (Thomas McCarthy
) are too self-absorbed to sense how deeply hurt Peggy is.
Peggy's neighbour, Al, asks Peggy on a date. It starts out well until Al reveals that he lost his own pet dog by accidentally shooting it in a hunting accident. When the two return to his home he shows off his knife collection and hunting trophies. He is oblivious to Peggy's distaste for this. She asks to see his garage, suspicious that something inside poisoned Pencil. Al makes a pass which she rejects in disgust.
Peggy gets a call from Newt (Peter Sarsgaard
), a volunteer at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
who was present when Pencil died. He tells Peggy he has a new dog she may like to adopt: Valentine, a King Shepherd
with behavioral problems. Newt agrees to help train Valentine, and he and Peggy begin to spend a lot of time together.
Through Newt, Peggy is exposed to veganism
and to animal rights
information. She becomes a vegan and begins helping Newt to adopt out various animals slated for euthanasia. Chastised by her boss Robin (Josh Pais
) for her commitment, she retaliates by donating to various animal-related charities from his checkbook.
Peggy and Newt share a kiss, Newt declining to go any further, which she mistakes for chivalry. She confesses she has fallen in love; Newt reveals that he is celibate, implying he is asexual. Peggy reacts badly, shutting out Newt and instead focusing on her new relationship with Valentine. Valentine's sporadically violent behavior worsens without Newt's instruction; he bites Peggy's hand. The dog also continually barks, causing Al to complain. Peggy responds rudely, insinuating that it is her revenge because she thinks something in his garage must have poisoned Pencil.
Peggy's interest in animal rights deepens, particularly the causes to stop animal testing and of farm communities for animals who were previously meant to die. Her new belief system is looked at flippantly by her brother and sister-in-law; when she announces she is a vegan, he responds: "It will be interesting to see how long this lasts."
On New Year's Eve weekend Peggy agrees to babysit her brother's children. She leaves Valentine in the care of Newt. She takes her young niece Lissie (Amy Schlagel, Zoe Schlagel) and nephew Benji to a farm for rescued animals to introduce them to an "adopted" chicken (a charity sponsorship) she got them for Christmas
. Intensely moved by the experience, Peggy has a mini-breakdown in the car. She wants to show them a slaughterhouse, but the children freak out.
Peggy gets drunk and discovers a rack of furs in her sister-in-law's closet. She tries them on in a bathroom and ultimately passes out drunk. Furs she left in the bathtub are ruined from the faucet's drip. She goes to Newt's to pick up Valentine and finds him weeping. Valentine killed a crippled dog named Buttons, and Newt sent Valentine to be put down because he knew Peggy did not have the fortitude to do so.
She rushes to the dog pound but is too late; Valentine has been dead for two hours. Peggy suffers a mental break and adopts 15 dogs slated to die; she lies, saying she works with the SPCA and intends to find them all homes. Peggy at work is confronted by her boss. He has discovered the fraudulent checks and she is fired.
Peggy's life falls apart. She barely leaves her home, which is practically destroyed by her new pets. Al complains, saying if she does not find a way to control them he will. While she is out, Newt visits, confiscates the dogs and leaves a warning notice from the SPCA. Peggy erroneously blames Al.
She sneaks into Al's house and finds molluscicide
with a hole chewed into the corner, confirming her suspicions about Pencil's death. Zombie-like, she drags the bag through the house, leaking poison pellets everywhere. She takes one of Al's hunting knives and hides. When Al and a girlfriend return home, Peggy attacks with the knife. Al wrestles it away from her and calls the police.
Peggy's brother and sister-in-law try to help. They say Peggy's boss has decided if she pays back everything and goes to counselling he will rehire her. They ask why Peggy attacked Al. She says she wanted him to know what it felt like to be hunted.
Peggy returns to work and is greeted warmly. But soon an internet search leads her to information about an upcoming animal rights protest. She sends an email to her coworkers (including Layla), boss, Newt, brother and sister-in-law. She must follow her soul. She abandons her former life and heads off to the protest, content that this is her greater reason for living.
reported that 70% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 134 reviews. On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.
Associated Press
film critic David Germain named the film the #10 best film of 2007.
on April 13, 2007 and in its opening weekend, it grossed $108,223 in 7 theaters. The film's widest release was in 152 theaters in its fifth week.
The film grossed $1,596,953 worldwide — $1,540,141 in the United States and Canada and $56,812 in other territories.
Molly Shannon
Molly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
, Laura Dern
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
, Regina King
Regina King
Regina King is an American film and television actress. She is well known for her role as Mary Jenkins's studious daughter, Brenda Jenkins, on the 1980s sitcom, 227, and for her critically acclaimed supporting role in the feature film Jerry Maguire...
, Tom McCarthy
Thomas McCarthy (actor)
Thomas Joseph McCarthy is an American actor, writer, and film director who has appeared in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night, and Good Luck, and television shows such as The Wire, Boston Public, Law & Order, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Saint Maybe...
, Josh Pais
Josh Pais
Josh Pais is an American actor of film and television.He has appeared in many Hollywood films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Raphael, Music of the Heart, Scream 3, It Runs in the Family, Little Manhattan and Find Me Guilty. He played Assistant M.E...
, John C. Reilly
John C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
and Peter Sarsgaard
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
. The film describes the process of a woman that goes from having one pet dog at home to becoming a vegan
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
and an animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activist.
It premiered January 20, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival
2007 Sundance Film Festival
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 18 until January 28, 2007 in Park City, Utah with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah and Ogden, Utah. It was the 23-rd iteration of the Sundance Film Festival...
.
Plot
Shannon stars as Peggy, a forty-something administrative assistant whose social and love life are slim to nil. Her most intimate bond is with her dog, Pencil. One morning Pencil refuses to come in after being let out to do his business, and a half-awake Peggy lets him stay outside overnight. The next morning she finds him in the yard of her neighbor Al (John C. ReillyJohn C. Reilly
John Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
) whimpering in pain. She takes him to a vet but it is too late; Pencil dies of toxic poisoning.
The people in her life react with sympathy but mostly make her feel guilty for her grief. Best friend Layla (Regina King
Regina King
Regina King is an American film and television actress. She is well known for her role as Mary Jenkins's studious daughter, Brenda Jenkins, on the 1980s sitcom, 227, and for her critically acclaimed supporting role in the feature film Jerry Maguire...
) tells Peggy her relationship with Pencil had held her back from finding romance. Her emotionally sterile sister-in-law (Laura Dern
Laura Dern
Laura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
) and brother Pier (Thomas McCarthy
Thomas McCarthy (actor)
Thomas Joseph McCarthy is an American actor, writer, and film director who has appeared in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night, and Good Luck, and television shows such as The Wire, Boston Public, Law & Order, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Saint Maybe...
) are too self-absorbed to sense how deeply hurt Peggy is.
Peggy's neighbour, Al, asks Peggy on a date. It starts out well until Al reveals that he lost his own pet dog by accidentally shooting it in a hunting accident. When the two return to his home he shows off his knife collection and hunting trophies. He is oblivious to Peggy's distaste for this. She asks to see his garage, suspicious that something inside poisoned Pencil. Al makes a pass which she rejects in disgust.
Peggy gets a call from Newt (Peter Sarsgaard
Peter Sarsgaard
John Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
), a volunteer at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a non-profit animal welfare organization originally founded in England in 1824 to pass laws protecting carriage horses from abuse. SPCA groups are now found in many nations, where they campaign for animal welfare, assist in cruelty to animals...
who was present when Pencil died. He tells Peggy he has a new dog she may like to adopt: Valentine, a King Shepherd
King Shepherd
The king shepherd is cross-bred dog developed in the 1990s using three different dog breeds.-Description:The build of this dog is slightly muscular, long, and robust; the structure is solid. The head is in good proportion with the body and moderately wide between the eyes. The forehead is slightly...
with behavioral problems. Newt agrees to help train Valentine, and he and Peggy begin to spend a lot of time together.
Through Newt, Peggy is exposed to veganism
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
and to animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
information. She becomes a vegan and begins helping Newt to adopt out various animals slated for euthanasia. Chastised by her boss Robin (Josh Pais
Josh Pais
Josh Pais is an American actor of film and television.He has appeared in many Hollywood films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Raphael, Music of the Heart, Scream 3, It Runs in the Family, Little Manhattan and Find Me Guilty. He played Assistant M.E...
) for her commitment, she retaliates by donating to various animal-related charities from his checkbook.
Peggy and Newt share a kiss, Newt declining to go any further, which she mistakes for chivalry. She confesses she has fallen in love; Newt reveals that he is celibate, implying he is asexual. Peggy reacts badly, shutting out Newt and instead focusing on her new relationship with Valentine. Valentine's sporadically violent behavior worsens without Newt's instruction; he bites Peggy's hand. The dog also continually barks, causing Al to complain. Peggy responds rudely, insinuating that it is her revenge because she thinks something in his garage must have poisoned Pencil.
Peggy's interest in animal rights deepens, particularly the causes to stop animal testing and of farm communities for animals who were previously meant to die. Her new belief system is looked at flippantly by her brother and sister-in-law; when she announces she is a vegan, he responds: "It will be interesting to see how long this lasts."
On New Year's Eve weekend Peggy agrees to babysit her brother's children. She leaves Valentine in the care of Newt. She takes her young niece Lissie (Amy Schlagel, Zoe Schlagel) and nephew Benji to a farm for rescued animals to introduce them to an "adopted" chicken (a charity sponsorship) she got them for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. Intensely moved by the experience, Peggy has a mini-breakdown in the car. She wants to show them a slaughterhouse, but the children freak out.
Peggy gets drunk and discovers a rack of furs in her sister-in-law's closet. She tries them on in a bathroom and ultimately passes out drunk. Furs she left in the bathtub are ruined from the faucet's drip. She goes to Newt's to pick up Valentine and finds him weeping. Valentine killed a crippled dog named Buttons, and Newt sent Valentine to be put down because he knew Peggy did not have the fortitude to do so.
She rushes to the dog pound but is too late; Valentine has been dead for two hours. Peggy suffers a mental break and adopts 15 dogs slated to die; she lies, saying she works with the SPCA and intends to find them all homes. Peggy at work is confronted by her boss. He has discovered the fraudulent checks and she is fired.
Peggy's life falls apart. She barely leaves her home, which is practically destroyed by her new pets. Al complains, saying if she does not find a way to control them he will. While she is out, Newt visits, confiscates the dogs and leaves a warning notice from the SPCA. Peggy erroneously blames Al.
She sneaks into Al's house and finds molluscicide
Molluscicide
Molluscicides, also known as snail baits and snail pellets, are pesticides against molluscs, which are usually used in agriculture or gardening to control gastropod pests like slugs and snails that can damage crops by feeding on them....
with a hole chewed into the corner, confirming her suspicions about Pencil's death. Zombie-like, she drags the bag through the house, leaking poison pellets everywhere. She takes one of Al's hunting knives and hides. When Al and a girlfriend return home, Peggy attacks with the knife. Al wrestles it away from her and calls the police.
Peggy's brother and sister-in-law try to help. They say Peggy's boss has decided if she pays back everything and goes to counselling he will rehire her. They ask why Peggy attacked Al. She says she wanted him to know what it felt like to be hunted.
Peggy returns to work and is greeted warmly. But soon an internet search leads her to information about an upcoming animal rights protest. She sends an email to her coworkers (including Layla), boss, Newt, brother and sister-in-law. She must follow her soul. She abandons her former life and heads off to the protest, content that this is her greater reason for living.
Cast
- Molly ShannonMolly ShannonMolly Helen Shannon is an American comic actress best known for her work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995–2001 and for starring in the films Superstar and Year of the Dog. More recently, she starred in NBC's Kath & Kim from 2008–2009 and on the TBS animated series Neighbors from...
- Peggy Spade - Laura DernLaura DernLaura Elizabeth Dern is an American actress, film director and producer. Dern has acted in such films as Smooth Talk , Blue Velvet , Fat Man and Little Boy , Wild at Heart , Jurassic Park and October Sky...
- Bret - Regina KingRegina KingRegina King is an American film and television actress. She is well known for her role as Mary Jenkins's studious daughter, Brenda Jenkins, on the 1980s sitcom, 227, and for her critically acclaimed supporting role in the feature film Jerry Maguire...
- Layla - Thomas McCarthyThomas McCarthy (actor)Thomas Joseph McCarthy is an American actor, writer, and film director who has appeared in several movies, including Meet the Parents and Good Night, and Good Luck, and television shows such as The Wire, Boston Public, Law & Order, and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Saint Maybe...
- Pier - Josh PaisJosh PaisJosh Pais is an American actor of film and television.He has appeared in many Hollywood films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as Raphael, Music of the Heart, Scream 3, It Runs in the Family, Little Manhattan and Find Me Guilty. He played Assistant M.E...
- Robin - John C. ReillyJohn C. ReillyJohn Christopher Reilly, Jr. is an American film and theater actor, singer, and comedian. Debuting in Casualties of War in 1989, he is one of several actors whose careers were launched by Brian De Palma. To date, he has appeared in more than fifty films, including three separate films in 2002...
- Al - Peter SarsgaardPeter SarsgaardJohn Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
- Newt
Critical reception
The film received positive reviews from critics. As of December 31, 2007, the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 70% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 134 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 31 reviews.
Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
film critic David Germain named the film the #10 best film of 2007.
Box office performance
The film opened in limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
on April 13, 2007 and in its opening weekend, it grossed $108,223 in 7 theaters. The film's widest release was in 152 theaters in its fifth week.
The film grossed $1,596,953 worldwide — $1,540,141 in the United States and Canada and $56,812 in other territories.
External links
- The Director Interviews: Mike White, Year of the Dog at Filmmaker Magazine
- Year of the Dog at Sundance.org