Old Dogs (Walt Disney Pictures)
No New Tricks
John Travolta and Robin Williams star in the new Disney film Old Dogs. It is a film with a plot you have seen many times before as Travolta and Williams try to baby-sit seven year old twins. Its the twins versus the oldies but goodies and it is a battle that has been played out more than once on the screen.
Charlie (John Travolta) and Dan (Robin Williams) are best friends and business partners in a Sports Equipment business. Charlie is the more boisterous of the two and he always manages to get Dan in hot water. A perfect example is the time they took a vacation to Miami Beach. Dan had just gotten a divorce and was in need of a diversion. Well alcohol provided the diversion and he ended up meeting and marrying a girl named Vicki (Kelly Preston) in one night.
The marriage was annulled the next day but seven years later she shows up with twins which she says are Dans, and they are. Not only that, but she has to go away for a few weeks and she needs Dan to watch the kids, which he agrees to do. The rest of the movie involves Dan and Charlies adventures in parenting.
Also involved in the adventure is a younger member of the Sports Company named Ralph (Seth Green). The funniest moments in the movie occur when Dan, Charlie and Seth try to break into a zoo where the kids (Ella Bleu Travolta and Conner Rayburn) are having a birthday party. A gorilla captures Ralph who then has to try to sing his way out of danger.
The film is rated PG for mild profanity and adult situations.
There are some funny moments in the film but they are created by jokes and situations you have already heard or seen in other films or at least it seems that way. The movie seems dated and even old. This is highlighted by Bernie Mac making an appearance in the movie and he died in 2008. How long did this movie sit on the shelf
Travolta and Williams give it the old college try and they are fun and funny. Travolta has a good scene in which he takes some wrong medicine and ends up with a Jack Nicholson/Joker grin. Williams is touching in his warm moments with the kids.
The movie is a Travolta family reunion of sorts with Preston playing Williams ex-wife and daughter Ella Bleu playing one of the twins. They all play their roles nicely with Ella Bleu making a solid debut as an actress.
Some audiences might just like the warm, comfortable feeling of this movie but others will wish that something at least felt new. The old dogs in the film can play these roles in their sleep but for this film they have no new tricks.
I scored Old Dogs an unteachable 5 out of 10.
