Dog parents guide

Dog Parent Guide

At least the dog has charm.

Overall C+

Theaters. In order to get back in action, Army Ranger Briggs accepts an assignment to transport a dog, Lulu, down the Pacific Coast to her handler's funeral. Along the way they both learn a lesson about trust.

Release date February 18, 2022

Violence B
Sexual Content C
Profanity C-
Substance Use D

Why is Dog rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Dog PG-13 Language, thematic elements, drug content and some suggestive material.

Run Time: 90 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Former US Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) has been desperate to get back into the service ever since he failed a medical exam and got turned out. Now making sandwiches for irritating teenagers in a seedy gas station, Briggs is running out of options. When his former Captain calls him up asking for a favor, he jumps on the chance at a potential return to his career. Briggs’ old teammate Riley (Eric Urbiztondo) has died, and his family wants his K9 dog, Lulu, to be at the funeral. All Briggs has to do is drive Lulu from rural Oregon to the funeral in Arizona, and the Captain will make a call to put him back on duty. The catch? Since returning from deployment, Lulu has been traumatized, unmanageable, and prone to biting. After the funeral, Briggs is to take her to a local Army base where she will, in all likelihood, be put down. But Briggs has to get her to Arizona first…

This is Channing Tatum’s directorial debut, and it shows. As both star and director, he has a lot of control over how this story gets told, and he seems to have settled on filming himself being annoying for an hour and a half. He prattles to himself, dropping what I can only assume are supposed to be charming little jokes, but which manage to be little more than a constant irritant. Unfortunately, the rest of the dialogue is either wooden or maudlin, so the incessant babbling might just be the best of a bad lot.

There’s not much I can say about the plot. It’s desperately attempting to be a patriotic, feel good kind of flick but it turns out to be a coagulated mass of recycled plot points and character arcs that barely connect with the ideas it endeavors to articulate. Trying to describe it is like trying to describe what air tastes like – you’re so constantly aware of it that you’re no longer able to analyze it. It feels almost like one of those fake movies you see in the background of other movies, like some bizarre trailer playing in the background of another scene.

And before you start thinking “Hey, that sounds perfect for holding a child’s attention,” it isn’t. The film deals with difficult issues like post-traumatic stress, violence, suicide, and alcoholism. More to the point, our reluctant hero spends the majority of the film cussing, trying to get laid, and drinking himself to sleep. He also decides that pretending to be blind to score a free hotel room is somehow appropriate behavior, so Briggs isn’t exactly hunting for a nomination as Role Model of the Year.

Despite being composed almost entirely of tropes from other films stitched together with some very choppy dialogue, Dog manages to be vaguely entertaining. I’m chalking that up to the dog in question, who manages to be far more charming and endearing than Tatum, despite wearing a muzzle for half the runtime. Maybe that would have improved Tatum’s performance too.

Directed by Reid Carolin, Channing Tatum. Starring Channing Tatum, Q'orianka Kilcher, Kevin Nash. Running time: 90 minutes. Theatrical release February 18, 2022. Updated

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Rating & Content Info

Why is Dog rated PG-13? Dog is rated PG-13 by the MPAA Language, thematic elements, drug content and some suggestive material.

Violence: There are references to death and war violence. An individual is struck. People are bitten by a dog. There are references to a probable suicide. A character is hit with a tranquilizer dart.
Sexual Content: A character is seen in an unconventional semi-sexual situation with two others. No nudity is seen.
Profanity: There are 24 uses of scatological curses, one use of a sexual expletive, and frequent uses of mild profanity and terms of deity.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Individuals are frequently seen drinking heavily. Marijuana plants are visible and people ingest edible cannabis products.

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Dog Parents' Guide

How common is PTSD among combat veterans? What are some of the available treatments for PTSD? How accessible are those treatments? What parts of the government are responsible for ensuring that veterans receive suitable medical care? What kind of problems do those organizations have?

Home Video

Related home video titles:

Another film about US Army K9 units is Megan Leavey. Last Flag Flying is another road trip movie about veterans’ funerals. Other films about PTSD include Thank You for Your Service, The Hurt Locker, The Last Full Measure, and Brothers. If you’re looking for more road trips on film, try Rain Man, Finch, or Green Book.