Molly Shannon plays the ultimate dog-lover in a downer comedy from the creator of Enlightened
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Watch This offers movie recommendations inspired by new releases, premieres, current events, or occasionally just our own inscrutable whims. This week: With the release of Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs and the latest Ghostbusters sequel getting pushed to 2021, we’re highlighting movies starring Saturday Night Live alumni.
Year Of The Dog (2007)
Released in the back stretch of a decade rich with downer comedies, Year Of The Dog launched the directing career of School Of Rock screenwriter Mike White. Beyond his early script work on a number of Jack Black vehicles, White also created Enlightened, the subversive HBO series starring Laura Dern as a scorned corporate executive who turns to yoga and Buddhist self-help books after a nervous breakdown. Year Of The Dog plays, in some respects, like a dry run to that series: Its story, about a mousy secretary who becomes a vegetarian and animal-rights advocate after the death of her dog, anticipates the bittersweet pleasures of Enlightened—its balancing act of compassion and mockery. The zealous animal-rights advocate is as ripe for parody as the self-help guru, but Year Of The Dog thoughtfully and quite touchingly considers how personal reinvention is also a way of healing, a balm against the feelings of meaninglessness generated by life’s big and small tragedies.
Molly Shannon plays soft-spoken bachelorette Peggy Spade. When Pencil, her doe-eyed pet beagle, unexpectedly passes after a night left unattended in the backyard, Peggy finds herself lonely and adrift without the pup’s warm companionship. Her drab and delusional boss, Robin (Josh Pais), now seems particularly callous; her genial but marriage-obsessed best friend, Layla (Regina King), more frivolous than ever. Few understand the extent to which she is rattled by Pencil’s death. When she visits her brother and his family hoping for comfort and an attentive audience, he’s distracted, and uptight sister-in-law Bret (Dern) would rather Peggy not mention d-e-a-t-h around their young daughter. As kind and considerate a friend as Peggy is to others, everyone seems to shrug at her crisis. It’s just a dog.
The impressive cast is rounded out by John C. Reilly as a doltish, macho neighbor with whom Peggy goes on a disastrous date, and Peter Sarsgaard as Newt, a dweeby trainer and volunteer at the Society For The Prevention Of Animal Cruelty. It’s sensitive Newt who cold calls Peggy to see if she might consider adopting Valentine, a German shepherd with behavioral issues. Valentine proves to be irremediably violent—but maybe Newt, who becomes an influential presence in Peggy’s life, can fill the Pencil-shaped hole in her heart? Any dog-lover can tell you that humans are disappointing compared to our loyal canine companions. Still, the dog trainer introduces Peggy to the world of veganism and advocacy, which rapidly becomes for her an obsession and an outlet for the rage and hurt of losing her beloved pet.
White keeps the satire to a low, existential boil as each character proves self-absorbed and consumed by their individual fixations. At her lowest point, Peggy spirals into a sort of caricature of meat-is-murder zealotry, forging donation checks to PETA-like organizations and drunkenly destroying Bret’s collection of fur coats. Shannon shifts into a wild-eyed, nearly off-putting desperation—a striking change from the character’s once demure and pliant demeanor. It’s all motivated by a yearning for empathy: If she can convince others to care about factory farms and shelter dogs, maybe she won’t feel so alone. These are dark times for Peggy, but her ultimately childlike nuttiness keeps the movie from getting too somber. The inevitable fallout is trailed by a rushed, somewhat lackluster aha moment, yet a certain clarity is achieved that illuminates the rest of the film and steers it away from mere subculture parody. The dog-obsessed are certainly mocked, but Year Of The Dog also underlines the empowerment that comes with caring for something other than yourself.
Availability: Year Of The Dog is currently streaming on TUBI with ads. It can also be rented or purchased digitally from Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, YouTube, and Redbox.
13 Comments
I hated this movie so much. Every character is incredibly off-putting, yet, with few exceptions, deserves much kinder treatment than the movie offers. Additionally, even knowing that the animals in the film were surely treated humanely, there is one scene where irresponsibility bordering on animal cruelty is played for laughs, and it just made me so uncomfortable for all of the dogs involved. Just an all-around unpleasant viewing experience.
Lost my dog late last year. It’s rough. Though I had most people be sympathetic, there was a general feeling of “Oh that sucks bud…so anyways.” which didn’t feel great, but at the same time I got. It wasn’t their dog. But people are bad at dealing with other people’s pain most of the time, it makes them uncomfortable. To be honest my dog wasn’t great at it either, she was the kind that would get upset when we did, so if I was sad, so was she. Frankly she was kind of a jerk. I still miss her though.
I really like this movie. One of Molly Shannon’s best performances, that best balances her goofy energy, rage, and soulfulness.
Mike White’s filmography is worth an explore. His early script collaborations with miguel arteta are noteworthy (not mentioned in this article) Star Maps their first is perhaps their most brutal. Chuck and Buck is eerily fantastic. The Good Girl is a classic and embodies the hopelessness of the Gen X soul in a world created by sociopathic Boomers better than any of those Gen X garbage indies.
I’ll check it out while waiting for S2 of The Other Two.
This movie just wrecks me every time. Hits a little too close to home (the death of a companion animal, went vegan, became animal advocate thread is exactly how things played out for me many moons ago). This movie is a little controversial among my animal advocate friends because they feel like maybe Peggy comes off too close to the crazy animal person stereotype. For me, it rings very true to the feelings I had of wanting to do anything I could to honor my most perfect friend whose life was cut short. I always felt like I could be doing more than I did, I was crushed when I failed at things and a lot of longtime friends just didn’t get it. It took a lot of years of grief & mania before I settled into a point where it was my life more than a reaction to an event.
This is such a charming underrated movie. Christoph Becke’s score is impeccable (The ending song, “Peggy’s Goodbye,” is particular wonderful, I think you can find it on YouTube) and I love how [SPOILERS FOR A 13 YEAR OLD MOVIE] by the end, she doesn’t just reset her life to where it was. She’s changed. And the script doesn’t mock or denigrate the oddballs in her life – they’re all weird and flawed and human. (fuck the guy who left the poison out where the dog could get it though).
Ouch, this movie. My friend rented it to watch with me right after my beloved cat died. He was a healthy 4 year old, and my little family, but suddenly expired from a heart defect. Year Of The Dog wasn’t the smartest thing to watch since it genuinely captures the lingering emotional amputation of losing a pet. But, it was also good to have that pain acknowledged and respected.And it was just fantastic work by Molly Shannon. Being a comedian she’s deftly practiced at measuring out ugly vulnerability.
Movie trailers have gotten so much better than they were even 10 years ago. So is this another ‘laid back’ rom-com? From the trailer, this reminded me a bit of Enough Said, which I wanted to enjoy because neither of the leads were what one would consider ‘dating material’. But the screenwriter just HAD to punish the woman for being rightfully cautious. Maybe this one will be kinder to the female lead.
Other great, hilarious, more than slightly terrifying Molly Shannon performance: as Louise’s BFF/ nemesis Millie on Bob’s Burgers
Year Of The Dog is a fantastic movie, and Molly Shannon’s best performance to date.Also, if you are doing SNL alumni films, please do Kristen Wiig’s “Welcome To Me”, a film I loved that few people seem to be aware of.
We need Enlightened Season 3.
I was put off by the part where she went full PETA, it felt like the people who maybe should be watching the movie would turn it off at that point and say “that’s how they got that way”—SPOILER (maybe) if I remember doesn’t it end with her becoming like a full-time protester? Like if she came back to balance and some more compassion for the frivolous people around her, and volunteered at the shelter or even went to work at the shelter, I thought it might have gelled better. Maybe I’m forgetting and she was just taking a long weekend to go protest.