Strays movie review: Is Will Ferrell’s dog movie any good?
The R-Rated comedy gets a canine twist in Strays, a crude shaggy dog story.
Will Ferrell voices Reggie, an optimistic dog that adores his owner Doug (Will Forte). In reality, Doug is a selfish loser who wants Reggie gone after a breakup, and dumps him in the city with no way home. There, Reggie meets up with fellow strays, led by the streetwise Bug (Jamie Foxx), and forms a plot for revenge.
As with this year’s Cocaine Bear (which has the same producers), the appeal of the Strays movie is fairly straight forward. The cuteness of the four-legged stars is a free pass for them to get up to all kinds of adult situations, including lots of scenes of humping accompanied by the enthusiastic tones of Foxx and Ferrell.
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It’s the voice actors that make the film enjoyable, utilising Ferrell’s ability to play comedically naïve characters and putting that into the wide eyes of a sweet Border Terrier. There is a loose moral about how the loyalty and love dogs give us isn’t always reciprocated, but for the most part it’s about the comedy set pieces and famous names screaming along to the action.
Considering he is often acting to computer assisted animals, Forte is pleasingly wretched as the bemused villain of the story. Wrapping up just as the story runs out of steam, Strays is an entertaining romp that may not have much more to offer than its elicit premise, but makes the most of its starry cast.
The Strays movie is available now