Firehouse Dog

Tear ducts or belly laughs?

By TOM MEEK | April 4, 2007

2.0 Stars

VIDEO: Watch the trailer for Firehouse Dog.

In this clunky coming-of-age standard, Shane (Josh Hutcherson), the sullen son of a fire chief, reluctantly takes in a wayward Airedale mix, and the mutt solves both Shane’s malaise and a crime spree, with complications. Although he’s called Dewey, the dog is really Rexxx, a lost Hollywood property who’s bigger than Lassie and Benji combined. (Past credits include Jurassic Bark and The Fast and the Furriest.) Dewey/Rexxx has plenty of charisma, as does Shane when he’s not just sulking. But director Todd Holland and his team of writers don’t know whether to play up the tear ducts or the belly laughs. The scenes of the pooch tidying up Shane’s room or pooping in a stew might elicit a smile, but what to make of the harsh family strife, and even murder? Bruce Greenwood brings a note of stability as Shane’s single dad juggling fatherhood, the firehouse, and recent tragedy, and the assorted nuts of Ladder 55 provide tomfoolery and moral support.

Topics: Reviews , Bruce Greenwood, Josh Hutcherson

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