A surprise hit for co-directors Reid Carolin & Channing Tatum, making a cautious debut with that old standby The Road Pic. The twist is that the two wounded war vets making this trip, slowly warming to each other as long festering physical & psychological injuries rise to the surface and start to heal, are Man and Dog. Specifically Army Ranger Tatum and Belgian Malinois ‘Lulu.’ With standard tropes for a (Grown) Boy and his Dog story, the tears begin with the opening credits, accompanied here by pages from the dog’s war service scrapbook, and pick up again on reaching destination, the funeral of a fellow vet, then right thru a coda that returns the dog to army base. It’s everything in between that falls short. Paint-by-numbers delays as Mr. Pooch dashes off-leash; mad pursuit; mischief & misunderstandings (by man and dog); kindly stranger offers comfort & advice. Eight or nine such turning points (that'd be about one per reel back when films came on reels). All fine, all heartwarming (plus two for comic relief), but progressively uninvolving. Still, by topping & tailing on the good moments, emotional buttons get pushed to send the customers out happy. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Don’t worry, one episode is there to show off the ‘Magic Mike’ bod. (Tatum picks up a pair of free-spirited types.) Physique buff as ever. Even better, that moonpie face seems to be aging into something beyond bland handsomeness. Previously unknown angles & planes now take the light adding interest & expressiveness. Is it possible the guy can act?
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