The Phoenix Network:
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Features  |  Reviews
FIND MOVIES
Find a Movie
Movie List
Loading ...
or
Find Theaters and Movie Times
or
Search Movies
Nominate-best-2010

Review: Old Dogs

Might be time to hang 'em up
By ALICIA POTTER  |  November 25, 2009
1.0 1.0 Stars

 

Director Walt Becker re-teams with his Road Hogs star and apparent muse John Travolta for another execrable entry in the aging boomer buddy “comedy” genre. Travolta smarms it up as Charlie, the babe-bagging counterpoint to Robin Williams’s earnest sad sack Dan, who mopes about failed love and takes off his shirt way too much.

The two sports marketers are gunning for a big Japanese account when Dan’s former fling (Kelly Preston) shows up, tells him that he’s the father of her seven-year-old twins (Conner Rayburn and Travolta’s daughter Ella Bleu), and dumps the office-upending kids on him for two weeks. From there, the cringingly unfunny fart, crotch, and urine gags uncork at 15-minute intervals; racist and homophobic jokes — an inspired contrast to the violin-backed family values crap — are equally well paced.

The only amusing scenes involve facial paralysis and a gorilla. Yet the film is notable for being Bernie Mac’s last. Too bad it’s not Becker’s.

Related: Bolt, Review: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), Review: Red Cliff, More more >
  Topics: Reviews , Celebrity News, Entertainment, Movie Stars,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
HTML Prohibited
Add Comment

ARTICLES BY ALICIA POTTER
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   REVIEW: OLD DOGS  |  November 25, 2009
    Director Walt Becker re-teams with his Road Hogs star and apparent muse John Travolta for another execrable entry in the aging boomer buddy “comedy” genre.
  •   REVIEW: COCO BEFORE CHANEL  |  September 30, 2009
    Based on the book by Edmonde Charles-Roux, Anne Fontaine's soaper of a bio-pic traces the fashion icon's life before the perfume and the bouclé suits.
  •   REVIEW: CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS  |  September 16, 2009
    This bizarre animated adaptation of Judi Barrett's cult-classic children's book by Phil Lord and Chris Miller ladles up much to chew on yet little that's appetizing.
  •   REVIEW: POST GRAD  |  August 19, 2009
    Vicky Jenson's grainy Little Miss Sunshine spawn starts promisingly, with Carol Burnett as a caftan-clad coffin dodger inhaling oxygen and a bag of Cheetos.
  •   REVIEW: G-FORCE  |  July 28, 2009
    A hero named Darwin and a convoluted plot about "global extermination" are the first clues that director Hoyt Yeatman isn't taking the cute route with his cast of animated guinea pigs.

 See all articles by: ALICIA POTTER

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2010 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group