If you’re looking for a no-brainer for a Friday night, take in a flick about dogs.
“Snow Dogs” is based loosely on Gary Paulsen’s “Winterdance: The FineMadness of Running the Iditarod” (about his real life experiences in the Alaskan dogsled race). The story follows gentrified Miami dentist Ted Brooks (Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr.) as he discovers his “true” heritage as the son of a recently deceased Alaskan dogsledder.
Upon arriving in rural Tolketna for the reading of his long lost mother’s will, Brooks learns he has been left almost all of her worldly possessions. That includes her award-winning team of Siberian huskies -Diesel, Scooper, Yodel, Sniff, Mack, Duchess, alpha-dog Demon, and a border collie named Nana.
Director Brian Levant (“Beethoven,” “Flintstones,” and “Jingle all the Way”) should have concentrated more on shots of the well-trained dogs sledding. Several less extraneous scenes only drag the movie out needlessly.
This fairly predictable fish-out-of-water comedy starts slowly, but gains interest when Brooks encounters the many odd locals in the rustic town.
Key residents include the sparky love-interest Barb (Joanna Bacalso) who runs the local tavern, weather-beaten mountain man Thunder Jack (James Coburn) who wants to get his hands on Brooks’ dog team, at a cut-rate cost, of course.
Throw in R&B singer Sisqo as Brooks’ wacky cousin, adequate roles by Graham Greene, Brian Doyle Murray and Jean-Michel Pare, and a dream-like (nightmare-like?) cameo by Michael Bolton and you have a return to Disney’s roots as a solid, clean family movie.
In an atypical exploration of his more comedic side, Gooding gives a convincing performance and succeeds at the extensive physical comedy asked of him.
Supported by a strong cast, which includes Nichelle Nichols (of “Star Trek” fame) who brings an enchanting presence as Brooks’ overprotective mother.
Also, the four-footed supporting cast provides delightful entertainment (especially for the younger members of Disney’s target audience) including several spooky shots of an animatronic Demon created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
According to a press release, it wasn’t all fun and games on the set –
Gooding is said to still be recovering from one particularly rough scene in which the dogs tear apart his feather-filled coat and found the one part of his body that wasn’t padded enough.
Filmed mostly in breathtaking Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia, “Snow Dogs” isn’t going to surprise you with it’s campy “happily-ever-after” ending, but it does somehow manages to cross the finish line with it’s authenticity in one piece.
“Snow Dogs” is rated PG for mild crude humor and opened last Friday.
