Sleeping Dogs Lie begins with a line that is purposely created for wincing and cringing. I will not repeat it but, chance are, it has already been an ongoing joke online. If I mention the plot, you may be able to figure it out. The story is about a woman who, out of impulsive desires, commits an act of bestiality with her dog in college and has gone on to their late twenties without telling a single soul. She winds up caught in the moment with her fiancée when they are admitting the wild things they did when they were younger and he is appalled and left wishing he was not informed about this.
The woman is Amy, played confidently by Melinda Page Hamilton. The man is John (Bryce Johnson), and the secret is spilled during a vacation at Amy's parents' house. Amy's family is made up of heavily religious, societal do-gooders, except for her delinquent meth-head brother who overhears Amy's secret when she's telling it to John late night in the garage. When the secret is out there, John is disgusted and the drug-addicted brother discovers this is a great time to tell their parents that Amy isn't the perfect model child they have always thought. When he tells them they don't believe it, until Amy confirms it and they are told to leave.
When Amy and John arrive home, things are rocky, and the final straw is when John calls Amy something no woman should ever be called. You can even hear the reluctant hesitation in his voice, and see he regrets it immediately after saying it. She responds by throwing the engagement ring he gave her straight at him, and now, she is left single and ostracized by her family.
Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait seems to create all of his ideas with a sense of direction, urgency, and purpose, while still imposing the creative, questionable spin on things. His next film would be World's Greatest Dad, a remarkably touching, eccentric drama about a father whose greatest happiness and feeling of self-worth comes after a horrific tragedy. On paper, it's saddening to thing about, but when you see it unfold, it becomes a beautiful story of sentiment and how once the impending roadblocks and shackles are destroyed, how your life could suddenly have more meaning than you ever thought.
Just like World's Greatest Dad, Sleeping Dogs Lie will be a challenge to recommend to people after one reads the plot. The film isn't a black comedy by the usual standards and I do not deem it "good" by my usual standards (whatever the hell they are). I deem it as a maturely crafted film that doesn't rely on the raunchiness and exploitation its one note joke could possibly bring, but what the human that is the butt of the raunchy joke can bring. Had this been more mainstream and boasted actors and actresses of the "let's be funny because we're doing and saying things that don't very much advance the plot" film genre it would've either quickly derailed into clichés and contrivance or overcompensate the joke itself and shortchange the humans behind it (the "what not to do" part on how to make a film about gags win). Goldthwait, again, proves he has something to say, and no matter how crass, juvenile, or ridiculous it is, he will say it and say it proudly.
NOTE: One may be surprised on what route our main character, Amy, will take. The trailer and posters say one thing, but Goldthwait has something else in store for her.
Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bryce Johnson, Geoff Pierson, Colby French, Jack Plotnick, Bonita Friedericy, and Brian Posehn. Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait.
The woman is Amy, played confidently by Melinda Page Hamilton. The man is John (Bryce Johnson), and the secret is spilled during a vacation at Amy's parents' house. Amy's family is made up of heavily religious, societal do-gooders, except for her delinquent meth-head brother who overhears Amy's secret when she's telling it to John late night in the garage. When the secret is out there, John is disgusted and the drug-addicted brother discovers this is a great time to tell their parents that Amy isn't the perfect model child they have always thought. When he tells them they don't believe it, until Amy confirms it and they are told to leave.
When Amy and John arrive home, things are rocky, and the final straw is when John calls Amy something no woman should ever be called. You can even hear the reluctant hesitation in his voice, and see he regrets it immediately after saying it. She responds by throwing the engagement ring he gave her straight at him, and now, she is left single and ostracized by her family.
Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait seems to create all of his ideas with a sense of direction, urgency, and purpose, while still imposing the creative, questionable spin on things. His next film would be World's Greatest Dad, a remarkably touching, eccentric drama about a father whose greatest happiness and feeling of self-worth comes after a horrific tragedy. On paper, it's saddening to thing about, but when you see it unfold, it becomes a beautiful story of sentiment and how once the impending roadblocks and shackles are destroyed, how your life could suddenly have more meaning than you ever thought.
Just like World's Greatest Dad, Sleeping Dogs Lie will be a challenge to recommend to people after one reads the plot. The film isn't a black comedy by the usual standards and I do not deem it "good" by my usual standards (whatever the hell they are). I deem it as a maturely crafted film that doesn't rely on the raunchiness and exploitation its one note joke could possibly bring, but what the human that is the butt of the raunchy joke can bring. Had this been more mainstream and boasted actors and actresses of the "let's be funny because we're doing and saying things that don't very much advance the plot" film genre it would've either quickly derailed into clichés and contrivance or overcompensate the joke itself and shortchange the humans behind it (the "what not to do" part on how to make a film about gags win). Goldthwait, again, proves he has something to say, and no matter how crass, juvenile, or ridiculous it is, he will say it and say it proudly.
NOTE: One may be surprised on what route our main character, Amy, will take. The trailer and posters say one thing, but Goldthwait has something else in store for her.
Starring: Melinda Page Hamilton, Bryce Johnson, Geoff Pierson, Colby French, Jack Plotnick, Bonita Friedericy, and Brian Posehn. Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait.