"Wiener-Dog" is a pretty new American film that runs for almost 90 minutes and was written and directed by Golden Globe nominee Todd Solondz. The cast includes a handful known names such as Gerwig, Delpy, DeVito and Burstyn. This is actually pretty much four (short) films in one long movie. The one thing they all have in common is the title character. The first story is about a man who, against the opinion of his wife, gets a wiener dog for their son. The second film is about a(n ex) vet nurse who goes on a trip with the dog and her childhood friend to meet his brother. The third episode is about a disillusioned screen (and professor) and the last one is about an old woman who gets visited by her daughter (and her new boyfriend) after not seeing them for years.
I must say I mostly enjoyed episodes one and two. They were good for the most part and even had a great moment here and there. Also I liked that the dog was the center of the story in the first and also played a crucial role in the second. I did not enjoy parts 3 and 4. The stories were okay overall, but I never really cared for the protagonists in these two as much as I hoped I would. And I also felt that the dog was almost entirely irrelevant in there and it was all just about the humans. And it seems Solondz recognized this himself and that's why he gave both parts the most spectacular endings possible, so shallow audiences would not realize the massive lack of wiener dog reference in parts 3 and 4. And also these big in-your-face endings were pretty bad in my opinion as they really offered nothing but huge thrill factor, but sacrifices all the quietly convincing approach that made this film so watchable earlier.
All in all, I guess I recommend the watch. I just wish the film could have stayed as convincing as it started. The actors all do a good job and probably elevate the material, especially Delpy early on in the emotional moments with her character's son. The latter was downright amazing to watch though and I think he can have a good career in the industry. Gerwig and DeVito were good too, even if they may have played these characters in the past already and probably not worse.The only reason Burstyn left me fairly uninterested was the story and also her huge sunglasses. Lowery, Mamet and Shaw were scene-stealers too. The ending with all the imaginary twin girls was pretty bad though. The fact that their comment about how it's time to go referred to the dog and not to Burstyn's character was the only good thing there. It all felt extremely pretentious with them saying all she could have been instead. All in all, not a happy ending for the dog (as almost always), but a good watch for the audience. I give this film a thumbs-up.
I must say I mostly enjoyed episodes one and two. They were good for the most part and even had a great moment here and there. Also I liked that the dog was the center of the story in the first and also played a crucial role in the second. I did not enjoy parts 3 and 4. The stories were okay overall, but I never really cared for the protagonists in these two as much as I hoped I would. And I also felt that the dog was almost entirely irrelevant in there and it was all just about the humans. And it seems Solondz recognized this himself and that's why he gave both parts the most spectacular endings possible, so shallow audiences would not realize the massive lack of wiener dog reference in parts 3 and 4. And also these big in-your-face endings were pretty bad in my opinion as they really offered nothing but huge thrill factor, but sacrifices all the quietly convincing approach that made this film so watchable earlier.
All in all, I guess I recommend the watch. I just wish the film could have stayed as convincing as it started. The actors all do a good job and probably elevate the material, especially Delpy early on in the emotional moments with her character's son. The latter was downright amazing to watch though and I think he can have a good career in the industry. Gerwig and DeVito were good too, even if they may have played these characters in the past already and probably not worse.The only reason Burstyn left me fairly uninterested was the story and also her huge sunglasses. Lowery, Mamet and Shaw were scene-stealers too. The ending with all the imaginary twin girls was pretty bad though. The fact that their comment about how it's time to go referred to the dog and not to Burstyn's character was the only good thing there. It all felt extremely pretentious with them saying all she could have been instead. All in all, not a happy ending for the dog (as almost always), but a good watch for the audience. I give this film a thumbs-up.