Show Dogs

The history of film is littered with movies where animals take on certain, specific human characteristics (usually starting with talking) and interact with humans in human ways until mayhem ensues. From the very best of the genre ("Babe") to the bottom of the barrel ("Howard the Duck"), the challenges of mixing humans and live action animals acting like humans are immense. Despite how bad the trailers for "Show Dogs" were, the film had some promise: Will Arnett is Executive Producer and star of "BoJack Horseman," an animated show that fully integrates humans and animals into a shared society.

But in the experienced - if not so capable - hands of director Raja Gosnell ("Scooby-Doo," "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," and "The Smurfs") the movie is confusing, juvenile and full of underused talents. The plot involves the massively confident Max (the voice of Chris "Ludacris" Bridges), a New York City police dog who's staking out an illegal animal smuggling operation to save baby panda Ling-Li.

Unbeknownst to Max, FBI Agent Frank Mosely (Arnett) is also on the case and the two undermine each other, setting up the main conflict between Arnett's bumbling FBI human and the super-competent and capable police dog. At this point it would be helpful to point out that while the dogs go on assignment, talk to birds and other animals, and appear to interact with humans in the way BoJack Horseman does, about 20 minutes into the movie it becomes clear that the humans only hear barking when the animals speak (a la "Family Guy," without the intelligence).

The movie moves from NYC to an exclusive dog show in Las Vegas, and the "Miss Congeniality" portion of the movie kicks into high gear. The panda is expected to be sold to a villainous owner at the dog show - it takes the audience about 10 minutes to figure out which one - and in order to uncover the evil panda purchaser Max and Frank must team up as owner and "show dog" to get on the inside. Max enlists the assistance of Philippe (the refreshing and brilliant Stanley Tucci), a former champion French Papillion who coaches Max on the ways of dog shows.

The meta moments would be cute if they didn't highlight the flaws in the script: "Cue the montage" leads off a series of "wacky" musical moments where Max gets a makeover, Frank and Max train as reluctant show dog and handler, and both Max and Frank develop ancillary love affairs that add unnecessary distraction to the narrative. The obligatory fart jokes, and references to how "Hollywood just doesn't make talking animal movies like they used to" (by the Chihuahua from Beverly Hills Chihuahua) elicit laughs from the teens and groans from the adults, but onward the animals and humans press to the inevitable and obvious climax.

For diehard Will Arnett fans, it's fun to watch him self-deprecate live (as he does so often with "BoJack"), and he shows off a slapstick side that's nice to see. He proves a willing participant for any and all stupid pet tricks, but "Show Dogs" lacks originality, inspiration or fun at almost every level. This genre has definitely gone to the dogs.