Old Dogs parents guide

Old Dogs Parent Guide

Many of the scenes involving Travolta and Williams resemble a standup comedy routine -- snappy but short. The rest of the film is strung together with a mediocre storyline.

Overall B-

Successful business partners and best friends, Dan and Charlie (Robin Williams and John Travolta), find the strength of their relationship tested when they are forced to care for a set of seven-year-old twins (Ella Bleu Travolta and Connor Rayburn). Ready or not, these Old Dogs are about to be taught a few new tricks from these young pups.

Release date November 25, 2009

Violence B-
Sexual Content B
Profanity B
Substance Use C

Why is Old Dogs rated PG? The MPAA rated Old Dogs PG for some mild rude humor.

Run Time: 88 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Old Dogs is a family affair for actor John Travolta, his wife Kelly Preston and their daughter Ella Bleu Travolta. The three of them star together (along with a couple of Travolta’s siblings) in this painfully, heartwarming family film about the challenges and joys of fatherhood.

John Travolta plays Charlie, a perpetual and aging bachelor who believes he is still capable of wooing the women even if it takes a pharmacy of prescription pills to keep all his body functions in check. He is especially interested in Amanda (Lori Loughlin), a young translator working in the office where he and his life-long pal Dan (Robin Williams) run a sports marketing company. The two men are about to close the biggest deal of their combined careers.

But just as their pens are poised on the dotted line, a ghost from Dan’s past shows up in town. Following Dan’s terrible divorce seven years earlier, Charlie hauled his despondent friend off to a tropical location where he got plastered, tattooed and married to a woman he’d just met—all in a matter of hours. When the alcoholic haze cleared the next morning, Dan and Vicki (Kelly Preston) decided to annul their nuptials. Now, she’s brought with her the results of their brief matrimonial union: twins Zach (Conner Rayburn) and Emily (Ella Bleu Travolta). Vicki also reveals she is headed for a two-week stint in the slammer for political activism and needs Dan to take on his fatherly duties while she serves her sentence.

Despite these guys’ skills in the boardroom, they are both lousy with kids. Figuring they only need to actively parent for about 90 minutes a day, they reluctantly agree to take the youngsters. The next fortnight includes a disastrous excursion to a wilderness encampment where the buddies are humiliated in a brutal game of Ultimate Frisbee with the camp director (Matt Dillon). They also mistakenly burn down a statue of the camp’s patron benefactor. And from there things just go downhill, on several fronts.

Many of the scenes involving Travolta and Williams resemble a standup comedy routine—snappy but short. The rest of the film is strung together with a mediocre storyline that includes jokes about the side effects of misused prescriptions, a urinating dog, and the ubiquitous ball-to-the-groin gag. As well, these aging ad agents are frequently mistaken for the children’s grandparents, a blunder that seems to be insulting to these two eternally adolescent-minded business partners.

While the script doesn’t offer any surprising twists, it does reiterate the important role of fathers in the lives of their children. And that is a positive lesson even Old Dogs can learn.

Directed by Walt Becker. Starring Robin Williams, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Ella Bleu Travolta, Connor Rayburn. Running time: 88 minutes. Theatrical release November 25, 2009. Updated

Old Dogs
Rating & Content Info

Why is Old Dogs rated PG? Old Dogs is rated PG by the MPAA for some mild rude humor.

Kids take a lot of abuse in this film, like in a scene where a child is hit in the head by a soccer ball. A man, upset by his divorce, gets drunk, tattooed and married to a stranger. Several scenes depict drunken behavior and the unintentional misuse of prescription pills. A dog pees in an office setting. A character is accused of wetting himself. A man is sprayed in the groin in a tanning salon. Other characters are hit in the groin with golf balls. A woman has her hands smashed and broken in a car door. A woman is sent to jail for civil disobedience. A man eats dog food. Jokes include scatological humor, homosexual comments and sports violence that result in a bloody lip. A character is electrocuted in water. Characters throw rocks at animals after intruding on their turf and animals attack men. Brief terms of Deity and name-calling are used.

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Old Dogs Parents' Guide

Charlie and Dan allow the kids to watch a Friday the 13th movie. How can parents determine appropriate media for their own children? What influences their willingness to let the youngsters see this horror film?

How does Dan’s attitude toward his career change after he meets his children? What events in our lives can impact our priorities?

As a parent, what would you put on your "Kids List"?

In the book Strong Fathers Strong Daughters, Dr. Meg Meeker addresses the vital role fathers play in the lives of their children, especially daughters.

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Old Dogs movie is March 9, 2010. Here are some details…

Release Date: 9 March 2010
Old Dogs on DVD and Blu-ray features:
- Bloopers
- Deleted Scenes
- Audio Commentary By Director Walt Becker, Producer Andrew Panay And Writers David Diamond And David Weissman
Old Dogs on Blu-ray also includes:
- Music Video: Every Little Step performed by John Travolta and Ella Bleu Travolta
Old Dogs Combo Pack (DVD and Blu-ray) offers all of the above, plus:
- Featurette: Young Dogs Learn Old Tricks
- Music Video: You’ve Been A Friend To Me by Bryan Adams

Related home video titles:

Director Walt Becker and John Travolta also worked together on the film Wild Hogs. Other movies about people with no experience with children being forced into the role of caregiver include Raising Helen, The Pacifier and The Game Plan.

Related news about Old Dogs

Robin Williams Dies at Age 63

Robin Williams Dies at Age 63

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