Has Junior been begging for a puppy? If so, by no means take him to "Good Boy!," a kids' comedy that features an altogether irresistible cast of canine stars who sport eyes as brown and sweet as Milk Duds and emotional ranges that beat a few of their human counterparts in Hollywood. A live-action adaptation of a children's book by Zeke Richardson, "Good Boy!" has all the elements that on paper make for a slick, manipulative, tired-out genre piece: a lonely kid, dogs who can talk and a Plan Canine From Outer Space involving an intergalactic invasion and potential doom.
As overloaded as this all seems, director John Robert Hoffman has orchestrated "Good Boy!" with charm, warm humor and even insight, especially where casting is concerned. He has found a terrific leading boy in Liam Aiken, who plays Owen Baker, a kid whose only friends are the standard poodle, boxer, Italian greyhound and greater Swiss mountain dog he walks every day for his neighbors. His parents (Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon) have promised him that if he proves he can be responsible in his dog-walking job, he can adopt a pup of his own. When that day arrives, it just so happens that a spacecraft crashes down nearby, piloted by an adorable mutt from the planet Sirius (also known as the Dog Star).
Liam Aiken, above, makes a terrific leading boy and Hubble an adorable mutt in "Good Boy!"
(Chris Helcermanas-benge -- AP)
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After the dog catcher imprisons the intergalactic stray, Owen adopts him and names him Hubble, but soon discovers that his new best friend isn't typical. He's smart (when Owen instructs him to "play dead" Hubble staggers around on his hind legs then collapses in his best James Cagney imitation), he has a howl like a sci-fi sound effect, and he's kind of a grouch. Owen gets to the bottom of things one night when Hubble runs away from the house; the boy follows him and discovers his dog with a transmitter, which when it short-circuits enables the youngster to understand and speak fluent dog.
As Hubble explains, he was sent to Earth to ensure that it is being run by dogs, that his brothers and sisters haven't gone soft and allowed themselves to become -- horrors! -- pets. "It may look like people are in charge," Shep the Swissie assures Hubble, "but face it, you don't see us picking up their poop." Soon enough, Owen and Hubble are training the other dogs to behave as if they're running things, all in preparation for the arrival of Hubble's boss, the Greater Dane. If they don't pass the test, they could all be deported back to the home star for some Sirius reprogramming.
For such a convoluted plot, "Good Boy!" is surprisingly nimble and fun to watch, mostly thanks to the magnificent dogs Hoffman has found to portray his lead characters, and thanks to the actors he cast as the animals' voices. Matthew Broderick plays Hubble with prickly but not entirely unlikable gruffness; Donald Faison lends urban street cred to a boxer named Wilson; Brittany Murphy is appropriately breathless as Nelly, the nervous little greyhound; Delta Burke is spot-on as Barbara Ann, the Southern belle of a standard poodle; and what a great idea it was to cast Carl Reiner as the avuncular, flatulent Shep.
Perhaps that last bit is leaned on a bit too much in "Good Dog!," but Hoffman also mines as much comedy as he can from the nonplused looks of the dogs when their owners speak to them in baby talk or pat them compulsively ("If one more person wipes their hands on me . . ." Hubble warns grumpily). Hoffman and Richardson (who co-wrote the screenplay) turn anthropomorphism on itself, a neat piece of conceptual jujitsu that will no doubt lead many viewers to look at their pets a bit differently.
The cute dogs and crazy antics in "Good Boy!" are enough to keep youngsters thoroughly entertained for its quick running time, but with luck its more subtle messages, about discipline and loyalty and mutual interspecies respect, will last much longer.
Good Boy! (82 minutes, at area theaters) is rated PG for some mild crude humor.
