User Reviews

THE worst movie I've ever seen, and I've seen allot. Acting is horrible, plot is awful, idea is terrible, and no research was done what's so ever! Ok, I admit, `Air Bud' was a pretty good movie, but not `Soccer Dog'. This "dog" is smaller than my cat! How can he possibly play soccer? Even for 10 years old kids it won't be a problem to kick the ball hard enough to brake the stupid dog in half! It's horrible, don't watch this movie.

This stinker is in mystifyingly frequent rotation on one channel here, and I've found myself watching in horror again and again. The script is like something one would come up with friends over several too many drinks, and the production values match admirably.

It's meant to be a children's movie, but features a grotesque (and poorly explained) kidnapping scene; the star dog has a lack of star quality equaled only by the other actors; and it in general has the look of being filmed in someone's backyard (the climactic soccer game features no more than three dozen extras sadly cheering in the background).

It even all wraps up with a budget-ran-out voice-over sequence when the story, to one's relief, simply stops. The high-raters here must be either the producers - or the majority of the extras from the soccer game!

A blatant rip-off of "Air Bud", this movie is REALLY about parents worrying too much about parenting. All the foibles of the characters (eg; adult coaches who dont know the game) are taken to the extreme- so much so that they are totally unbelievable, not funny.

There is no semblance of reality here, folks and you'll not develop sympathy for ANY of the characters.

The best thing about the movie is the good looking kits (uniforms) of the opposing team in the first game the dog plays. Perhaps chosen because the setting is supposedly near Arlington Heights, IL, the home of the Columbus Crew's franchise player, Brian McBride.

SOCCER DOG: THE MOVIE provides fun, diverting viewing for kids, while sneaking in some sly comedy for their parents. Sure, it's a low-budget AIR BUD for the foreign market, but it doesn't pretend to be anything else. I feel a little sorry for the viewer who expected "research"-- a little sorry, but not much more. As for the viewer complaining that all the adult characters were "baffoons," perhaps he meant to say "baboons" or "buffoons." Stars Marshall and D'Abo give credible performances. And while many of the supporting adult characters are indeed broadly-drawn, they do their jobs and get some laughs. And the kid and his dog are very effective. I watched SOCCER DOG with my young niece. She loved it, and she's watched it since. The movie entertained her

OK, we were going along with the stereotypical bad orphanage experience and explaining to our son, adopted from Russia, that this was over-the-top acting and dramatization, so we could get to the dog playing soccer (since he plays soccer). But the last scene, in which the dog goes back to his original owner put my son over the edge and he cried for 15-20 minutes, "he's been replaced!!!!" This from an elementary child. I DO NOT recommend this movie to any family that has an adopted child; it displays adoption, orphanages and adults badly--and in the end, even though they win the game--the dog that the boy bonded with has to leave--and this is too much. PLEASE be wary if you have any adopted children, and beware families with biological children, because the impression of children who are adopted is not positive and paints a stereotype that is unhealthy and nasty. (The dog is cute, but not enough to save our family's reaction to this movie....)

Although on the surface, Soccer Dog may appear to be a flat, bargain bin flick, it is actually a fantastic film. Allow me to break down what makes this movie so utterly amazing. First is the amazing actors. From the creepy dogcatcher to the wise soccer shop owner, every character is perfectly portrayed by people with no real significance. In fact each character is so unlovable the viewers are unable to choose a favorite! I myself was cheering for the antagonist! Brilliant! Next is the awe inspiring soundtrack. The choice to use the same annoying saxophone diddly for every soccer scene was a great choice. With this tactic the viewers are too busy tending to their bleeding ears to pay attention to the movie.

Oh what to say about the storyline. . . With no real problems, conflicts, aims, objectives, progression, or plot, the viewers are left guessing the entire movie. In fact, I myself was waiting for the trailers to end before I realized the movie had already started! A work of genius I say!

In conclusion, Soccer Dog may just be the greatest feature film ever created by the hands of man!

Words cannot explain my delight, when I came across a movie named Soccer Dog. It was yet another in the long line of animal athlete films (Air Bud, Air Bud 2, Ed, for example). Starring Olivia D'Abo an always pleasant actress, this film attempts to tell the story of a dog that plays soccer. Many can spot who sponsered the movie, Adidas, as their logos are emblazoned on the front of everything, shoes, shirts, socks, billboards, they may as well had started the movie by stating that it was an adidas production in the opening credits.

As far as bad movies go, this is by far the worst. As easy as the concept of a soccer playing is to swallow, I just didn't enjoy myself. This is cheap, music sounds like a half-assed cross breed between techno and jazz and the special effects were not very special. If a sequel is to follow, god help us all.

AUSTRALIAN CLASSIFICATION:

PG Adult Themes.

I have to say that I found this movie utterly bizarre, I don't know what I was expecting but so much of this movie is just unforgivable, largely down to the script. The film's tone is all over the place, it's packed with lazy cliches and stereotypes, at times the movie is confusing, at other times it's just pure nonsense. The main father character is just not interesting, nor is it any fun watching him at his work. The jokes are badly delivered and the plot is just impossible to follow as we have little to no idea what it's about. I really was baffled by this. The narration is also a sign that the film is struggling to tell its story visually.

This near-masterpiece contains some of the most intense football-scenes ever filmed. Backed up by some bone-breaking cinematography, the skills displayed by the actors, and certainly the dog itself, are right up there with the stuff Stallone gave us in "Victory" (1981). There are some pretty hard shots in this movie, if you take my meaning.

The humour... Well, it's lovely. I'll admit that the razor-sharp dialogue caught me off-guard at a couple of occasions, and that's what this movie is all about: Cutting the edge on as many levels as possible.

"He's fast, and he can score goals."

OK... yes, it's a movie about a dog playing soccer. Yes, its attempts at portraying a very evil dog catcher fall flatter than every opposing soccer player seems to when the dog comes their way. And yes, most of its attempts at humor fail.

However, if you go out and rent a movie like this or watch it on TV expecting a masterpiece, what universe are you living in? Has any movie about animals playing sports ever really been that great? Apologies to all of the Air Bud fans out there, but even that movie wasn't all that great, and it's the Godfather of animal athlete movies. So, if you're holding Soccer Dog up to the standards set by other movies like it, you will find that it is actually fairly decent.

A man named Alden, once an orphan, is now happily married and living in a soccer-crazed town called Crocker. However, since he was once an orphan, he feels that it is his duty to adopt from the same orphanage. In comes Clay, the shy, chronically depressed young boy they adopt. This movie spends a little too much time being melodramatic with the attempt at chronicling the difficulties of parenting, but oh well. Clay joins the soccer team at his father's request, becoming the laughing stock of his team and the opposing team for his ignorance of the game they hold sacred. Just when all hope seems lost for Clay to fit in, he finds a dog. What happens? Lincoln happens to score a goal during a game and quickly becomes the town's biggest sensation since the sport of soccer was invented.

My favorite character in this whole movie would have to be the coach. I think he may save some of the movie with his "stand-out" humor, meaning he is the only one who is truly funny. Fans of old Nickelodeon TV shows may also recognize the referee as the head counselor from "Salute Your Shorts", making it even more enjoyable. And no movie is complete without a David Hasselhoff joke, and even Soccer Dog pulls that off.

All in all, not a bad attempt at a genre that never should have happened in the first place. 7/10

I look forward to babysitting my seven year-old nephew about as much as I do a root canal. So when I was asked this week to watch the wild child, I cringed, but accepted. If he's not running around like a madman, he's watching videos and TV.

After having chased him around the house for three hours, we sat on the couch and turned on HBO. Luckily SOCCER DOG: THE MOVIE was playing. It not only kept him distracted and entertained for 90 minutes, but I found myself laughing along with its cute charm and sharp wit.

Disregard the low number of stars you see on the title page. This is an extremely fun and enjoyable film for 8 year-olds or 28 year-olds.

James Marshall and Olivia D'Abo do a great job of acting while the really awesome dog rocks, too! The story goes like this, a boy who doesn't know exactly how to play soccer when his demanding dad wants him to be a soccer star... they need to call in the cool little SOCCER DOG! There are many movies like this, for instance Air Bud which goes a step further than this, but Soccer Dog definitely makes the grade!

"Soccer Dog" is a heartfelt story about a young boy, new in town and just looking to fit in. Any age & gender can relate because at one time or another, we've all been there...A great plot that will captivate young and old alike!

Watch out Air Bud, here comes Soccer Dog! Soccer Dog is a fun, witty, and touching story of a boy and his dog. Incredibly a soccer playing dog shows us the true meaning of love, family, and community. As a result of the dog's success, and through the love of his owners, people gain the self-confidence and happiness, to make good, though often difficult decisions. Screenwriter Daniel Forman and Director Tony Giglio have done a masterful job of weaving a complex mosiac and leaving the viewer feeling great about himself and of all mankind. I highly recommend this film to viewers of all ages.

Loving couple adopt an orphan from a local orphanage. Alden tries to bond with his son by getting him involved in a local soccer team. However the team is poorly coached and can't win any games. When Clay's dog turns out to be a natural player he is put in the first team (at the expense of Clay) causing rifts in the team. With the team on a great cup run and the town gone Lincoln mad everything seems fine. However Clay feels neglected and a dog catcher seeks to catch Lincoln who have previously escaped him.

It's not a great premise at all, but with enough tongue in cheek humour this could have been pretty funny. The story is rubbish and the core of it is dull. The main bit relates to tension between Clay and his dad, and a rivalry between Clay and another team. Both these bits are dull and nothing new. However what is enjoyable is the occasional streak of adult jokes that come up.

The film's comedy come from the characters that represent various films. We have the mobster type father (just like Paulie from Goodfellas), we have the coach of one of the teams who rips off the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket, we have one of the players who talks like Vince Vaughn in Swingers – and we have a familiar face from Blazing Saddles and a referee who looks like Tony Blair! We also have a few scenes that spoof other films – the best being Ransom – but most of it isn't very good.

Foley is OK as Clay but Marshall is dull as the dad. McMurray is funny as the coach and the various film spoof characters are pretty funny. However the main characters are dull and Billy Drago has nothing to do and doesn't carry much menace. The scenes of the dog playing football are daft too, and not well done – the dog either follows a ball that is obviously being dragged in front of it or they use an absurd computer generated ball instead.

Overall this has plenty of funny characters but the core is really dull making this worth watching once, but don't expect it to be that good.

This movie may have a few minor flaws (e.g., length and some bad acting *cough* John Marshall) but overall it was highly entertaining. I especially enjoyed the cinematography, soundtrack, and humor. Olivia D'Abo was great, as usual. Highly recommended for an evening of wholesome "warm and fuzzy" family fun.

I watched this movie with my kids. It was Skinemax quality without the skin. The only interesting person in the movie was Olivia d'Abo, and that is because she is a hottie. The kids were acting like they were being punished. The adults were worse. Do yourself a favor and rent Air Bud.

This film was everything I never thought it was going to be. I was babysitting and it came on HBO. I sat the three kids in front of the TV and to my surprise they were mesmorized by the film. Even more shocking than that was that I too, found myself into the story.

The humor, in a clever way, plays to both the adults and kids at the same time.

Overall it won't set the film world on fire, but it was a fun hour and a half!

Soccer Dog makes me think of the wonderfully wacky books by Gordon Korman I enjoy so much. Unique characters add a deliciously surreal tinge to the film. Very satisfying villains; one's the sort you love to hate and the other is one of those freaky-creepy types that unsettle you in an entertaining manner. It's well-conceived and just generally fun to watch. The dog, "Lincoln," is the sort of doggy main character we all love and expect from cinema: charming, endearing, and with that head-tilt thing down pat. A must-see if you love dogs, or if you get the warm tinglies from watching a good family film.

I'm a Soccer Dad. I have three kids that play soccer. I bought this film for my oldest (age 12) about five or six months ago. It became his favorite video.

I never watched it, figuring it was just for kids.

Last week, my son asked me to watch a little with him. I did. Look, my kind of films are GOODFELLAS and SCARFACE, but I enjoyed the film. I laughed alot. The parts with the dumb Coach and the Military Guy were great.

I recommend the film to everyone.

I really liked this movie and my kids love it. It is very hard to find movies which are entertaining for adults but that are appropriate for children... and "Soccer Dog" does both. It is very off-beat and is good because the comedy is not slap-stick driven but based on the characters.

I don't normally send in reviews, but when I read the review of August 1, 2000, I found it to be completely off-base and because my kids and I found this to be a good film... I wanted to recommend it to you. I really think the filmmakers did a good job... so check it out for yourself.

I thought this was a very good film. When I rented it for my nephew, I thought, "great another dog family movie." But I was pleasantly surprised. It had humor for adults as well.

Nice job by the people involved.