There is nothing more frustrating than anxiously awaiting a movie only to be completely disappointed upon finally viewing it.

Such is the case with Mike White’s newest film, “Year of the Dog.”

Most people know White for crafting uplifting, unique comedies with out-of-the-box plots such as “School of Rock,” “The Good Girl” and “Nacho Libre.”

While these films captivated audiences, “Year of the Dog” falls short.

White’s latest film tells the story of Peggy (Molly Shannon), a tried and true animal lover on her quest to find meaning in her life.

Following the death of her furry other half, Pencil, Peggy struggles to find another love to replace the one she has lost.

In addition, Peggy finds herself completely isolated by her family and coworkers who cannot fathom why she is so upset over a dog. Just as Peggy hits her lowest point, she receives a phone call begging her to adopt a delinquent German Shepherd with major behavioral issues.

Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), an animal rights activist and adoption advocate, assures her that with a little training and love, the dog, inappropriately named Valentine, will be fine.

Peggy reluctantly agrees and begins forming a relationship with Newt as the training process progresses.

The subsequent slew of awkward moments between the two resulted in no relationship.

Furthermore, when asked to care for Valentine while Peggy is babysitting her brother, Pier’s (Thomas McCarthy), sheltered, suburbanite kids for the weekend, tragedy strikes again.

Overwhelmed, Newt explains that Valentine has killed his dog Button and has been taken to the city pound where he was put down.

Peggy’s grief gets the best of her, and she adopts 15 animals to fill the void left by Pencil and Valentine’s deaths.

She also begins stealing from her company in order to donate hundreds of dollars to animal rights organizations. Forty-five minutes later, after an attempted murder and brief insanity scare, Peggy finds her true happiness in being an animal rights activist.

No job. No boyfriend. No dog. No fun to watch.

Perhaps I approached the film with the wrong attitude. The trailers had led me to believe that this movie would be a funny, uplifting, romantic comedy. Instead, it proved to be weak character study full of would-be sentimental slop.

White tried to walk the fine line between drama and comedy but ended up losing both genres.

The result was a smattering of film styles and general confusion.

Instead of feeling an emotional bond to Peggy, one felt almost sorry to be watching this poor woman’s pathetic plight. In fact, the best part of the entire film was the hordes of fuzzy-puppy close-ups.

Overall, “Year of the Dog” was a depressingly awful attempt at greatness.

Word to the wise, if you still want to see this movie, rent it, because $8.75 is a bit pricey for disappointment.