I have a soft spot for movies about dogs. The Adventures of Milo and Otis and Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey were on constant repeat when I was a kid, and my brothers and I loved the latter so much, we named our dogs Chance, Shadow, and Sassy. As I grew up (but apparently didn’t mature), I’ve learned to appreciate raunchy comedies that combine tongue-in-cheek humor with laugh-out-loud moments about topics that are quite uncouth and nothing you would discuss with your mom. So, the merging of these two genres with Strays should have been a perfect storm for me, and while there are laughs to be had, it’s too over-the-top and repetitive to be as enjoyable as it should have been.
Reggie (Will Ferrell) is a good dog. He’s nuts about his owner Doug (Will Forte) and would do anything for him since he thinks they have such a tight and loving relationship. Except that’s not the case as Doug is absolutely horrible to his little buddy. Desperate to get rid of Reggie, Doug abandons him in the big city where he soon meets fellow strays Bug (Jamie Foxx), Maggie (Isla Fisher), and Hunter (Randall Park). The three of them try to get him to understand he was actually in an abusive relationship, but Reggie stands firm in his love for Doug. As time goes on, and he begins to enjoy the freeform life in the city without an owner, Reggie starts to realize how victimized he had been and becomes determined to get revenge. This kicks off a road trip back home in order to settle his score with Doug and hopefully get some closure to the suffering he went through in his old life
It would be unfair to say that there aren’t some genuinely funny moments scattered throughout Strays. It’s all adolescent humor, so if you like poop jokes, constant profanity, and discussions about dogs with … big bones, then you’re going to have a blast. The joy and life the voice actors bring to their characters helps immensely, and they fit their on-screen counterparts perfectly. Especially Will Ferrell as Reggie playing the ever-hopeful, yet naïve, optimist who is just so completely excited and in awe at everything happening around him. He never ceases to be endearing and is one of the best parts of the film.
But there are problems that show up almost immediately. Yes, we know this is a hard R comedy full of vulgarity and filth, and it’s fine for a movie to wear it on its sleeve, but when that’s its whole identity, things start to fall apart. When a little kid drops an F-bomb for the first time, it’s hilarious. When they do it for 10 minutes straight, it’s tiresome, and that’s what happens in Strays. Dogs cussing and saying wildly inappropriate things is quite funny, but it wears completely thin in an extremely short amount of time. Don’t get me wrong, there are still laughs to be had even towards the end, but you’ll be more likely to sigh than chuckle once everything wraps up.
Also, don’t CGI dog’s faces to make them actually talk to each other. It’s creepy and weird. Just let the adorable creatures run around and narrate their conversations like a normal movie.
13-year-old Adam would have loved this. It has everything a teenager could want in a raunchy comedy except they’re not going to be able to get tickets. I know some adults will still have fun with it, but previous films like Sausage Party and South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut did it better. So, I’m not sure who Strays is for since the target audience won’t be able to see it, and adults are going to find it too sophomoric. I just wish it had more than three jokes to tell because like that cussing kid, they’re hilarious the first time but are rote and boring as they endlessly repeat.