My Dog Skip
***
Rated on a 4-star
scale
Screening venue: Odeon (Liverpool City Centre)
Released in the UK by Warner Bros on August 11, 2000; certificate PG; 95
minutes; country of origin USA; aspect ratio 1.85:1
Directed by Jay Russell; produced by John
Lee Hancock, Mark Johnson, Roderick Johnson, Andrew
A. Kosove. Written by Gail Gilchriest; based on the book by
Willie Morris. Photographed by James L. Carter; edited by
Harvey Rosenstock, Gary Winter.
CAST.....
Frankie Muniz..... Willie Morris
Diane Lane..... Ellen Morris
Luke Wilson..... Dink Jenkins
Kevin Bacon..... Jack Morris
Harry Connick Jr..... Narrator
Small-town Mississippi, 1940. Willie Morris is
an only child who doesn't really get along with the other kids. His dad is
too serious to talk to, a WWI veteran with a false leg. His mother's sweet,
but she's... well... his mother. His best friend is Dink Jenkins, the high
school football hero from next door, who everyone in town loves -- but Dink's
about to go off to war.
"My Dog Skip", based on the memoirs
of the real-life Willie Morris, tells of the first summer he spent with his
dog Skip. Not that you couldn't have guessed that from the title. Morris
believes this puppy brightened up his life and gave him confidence that caused
happy childhood memories, and in turn eventually led to Oxford University
and career success as a writer.
In the movie we see how the clever little puppy
played with Willie around the house when the lad would otherwise have been
sitting around moping, impressed bullies enough to end their meanness, and
served as an ice-breaker with a negro boy. The screenplay is structured as
one of those "Nothing was ever the same after that summer..." tales, and
I found its methodical way of setting up incidents that lead to moral messages
rather transparent. Kids won't. This is a good film to show
them.
Looking at it objectively, I know that "My Dog
Skip" is corny and clichéd. But it's intended for children, and I
recommend it on that level. I enjoyed the movie myself because its sentimentality
is established early on, and we just have to accept it; after a while, I
stopped noticing the clunky emotive devices, and they started getting to
me. I've had a Yorkshire Terrier since I was nine years old, I love the little
rascal, and I guess I'm emotionally vulnerable to a story about a boy and
his puppy. Even the ridiculously over-literary voice-over, showing off adjectives
and adverbs like a smart-arsed high school student, threatened my tear ducts
during its final summation.
Thing is, the filmmakers of "My Dog Skip" know
that when you're telling a soppy story and wearing your heart on your sleeve,
that means you make sure your actors and production values are top-notch,
so your audience don't feel suckered in. Usually this kind of picture is
lazy -- characters gush insipid dialogue, soft focus dominates the
cinematography, piano music wails on the soundtrack. But "My Dog Skip" gives
us a sharp, vivid recreation of its time and place, and focuses mainly on
interesting people. Frankie Muniz, as Willie, is a likeable, sincere kid;
Kevin Bacon, as his dad, also shows depth and heart. Call me a sucker. Call
me vague and rambling. I liked this flick.
COPYRIGHT© 2000 Ian
Waldron-Mantgani
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