Old Dogs (2009)

Directed by: Walt Becker | 90 minutes | comedy, family | Actors: John Travolta, Justin Long, Robin Williams, Seth Green, Kelly Preston, Matt Dillon, Lori Loughlin, Bernie Mac, Rita Wilson, Dax Shepard, Laura Allen, Conner Rayburn, DeRay Davis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Alexa Havins, Ella Bleu Travolta, Bradley Steven Perry, Ed Jewett, Kate Lacey, Regan Mizrahi, Dylan Sprayberry, Julia Frisoli, Rachel Mower, Chris Astoyan

The Travolta family – father John Travolta, mother Kelly Preston and daughter Ella Bleu Travolta – are giving the family film genre a whole new meaning as they all appear in the film ‘Old Dogs’ (2009). After the tragic death of their 16-year-old son Jett in January 2009, John and Kelly have come to realize the importance of nurturing family ties. For months, the Travoltas mourned and did not appear in public. It wasn’t until the US premiere of ‘Old Dogs’ on November 9, 2009 that they made their first public appearance again. In their own words, Scientology has helped them come to terms with their loss. John: “We’ve been working really hard lately to get back on top as a family. We have our own way of doing that and it has helped. We also had a lot of support from our friends.” The Travoltas have grown closer together. “When Ella Bleu indicated that she wanted to act, we gave her that chance. We just had to find the right script. Then ‘Old Dogs’ came our way. It seems like she predicted it. How often does such a fun role come along for a seven-year-old?”

‘Old Dogs’ is about two good friends – now in their fifties – who run a sports marketing company together. Dan (Robin Williams) is an ambitious, hard worker in business but a genuine romantic in private. Charlie (John Travolta) is an incorrigible bachelor, a fast boy who thinks he can wind all women around his finger just like he used to. When Dan’s marriage ends, Charlie takes him to Florida to cheer him up. There he meets the beautiful Vicki (Kelly Preston), whom he enters into a lightning marriage. As soon as they are married, they also divorce again, after which seven years pass. Just as Dan and Charlie are about to close a mega deal with a major Japanese firm, Vicki reappears in their lives. And she’s not alone: ​​In her wake, she’s brought seven-year-old twins Zach (Conner Rayburn) and Emily (Ella Bleu Travolta). It turns out that Dan is the father of the children. Now that Vicki has to go to jail for two weeks for committing a theft, she asks Dan to babysit the twins. He has no idea how to handle children, especially now that his mind is on the Japanese business deal. Charlie isn’t much use to him either. Their bumbling way of parenting leads to hilarious situations. Yet Dan is beginning to realize more and more what really matters in life.

Director Walt Becker made his debut in 2002 with ‘Van Wilder’ and also brought us ‘Wild Hogs’ (2007). If anyone knows how to make a lame comedy, it’s him. With ‘Old Dogs’ he succeeded again. An intelligent or subtle joke is hard to find in this film. The script is of a questionable level, full of clichés and painfully unfunny. John Travolta and Robin Williams – who were given room to improvise by Becker – limit themselves to slapstick and crazy pelvic twitching. The idea is that we develop sympathy for them when we see them bumbling with the children, such as during a Boy Scout camp where macho camp leader Matt Dillon (who is still trying to make something out of his role) subjects them to all kinds of painful exercises like a true drill sergeant. But these characters are impossible to get likable. They are one-dimensional and unbearable. Robin Williams comes off a little better than John Travolta – who is clearly in free fall in his career – but the false sentiment he comes up with towards the end of the film is cringe-inducing. Perhaps the most annoying element in the film is so-called comedian Seth Green, who emerges as the seemingly ambitious sidekick to Dan and Charlie, who, when it comes down to it, would rather sing karaoke in a Japanese bar than pursue his career and his responsibilities. fulfills. Fun is different!

Isn’t there anything about this movie worth watching? Not much. It’s a nice fact that Williams and Travolta dare to mock the fact that they are no longer the youngest (too bad the execution misses the mark so terribly). Kelly Preston may not take the film to a higher level, but with her radiant appearance it does bring a glimmer of light in the darkness. The late Bernie Mac makes an appearance in what would turn out to be his last film – fun for his fans. An unrecognizable Justin Long makes a nice cameo as a freaked out Boy Scout dad who still has a bone to pick with Charlie. Ella Bleu Travolta and Conner Rayburn aren’t that bad and old dog Sebastian has a starring role. The images shot in New York and the wildlife of Connecticut are also nice to look at. All in all, however, a huge disappointment prevails. This film rarely, if ever, gets funny – it doesn’t produce more than a single chuckle – and that’s deadly for a comedy. The running gag that Dan and Charlie are the twins’ homosexual grandfathers is annoying and switching the ‘old men’ pills – with all its consequences – is lame. That’s nothing compared to the abominable scene in which Seth Green ends up in the cage of a raised gorilla.

Walter Becker remains faithful to his dubious level of ‘Van Wilder’ and ‘Wild Hogs’. It will undoubtedly have been a fun affair on the set, but there is very little of that in the film. You wonder if Travolta and Williams are really that desperate to sign this. Painfully unfunny!