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Rude crude and at times funny Strays is a hit and miss
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proposition some of the physical comedy lands and some does not
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five 4321 music.
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This is movies first with Alex.
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First. In between site gags, there are flat patches and the
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transitions between scenes are not always seamless, Reggie, the
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voice of Will Ferrell is a mutt with a dirt bag of an owner.
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Doug Will Fort who treats the border terrier very poorly.
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Reggie mistakenly believes that he's good for nothing.
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Bong addicted layabout master cares for him when nothing could
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be further from the truth. In fact, Doug repeatedly tries to
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dump Reggie but no matter how far Doug drives, the dog always
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manages to find a way back much to Doug's infuriating. So the
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only thing for Doug to do is to transport Reggie even further.
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Ultimately, three hours away.
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That's where Reggie meets other Strays and befriends a fast
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talking foul mouthed Boston terrier named Bug, the voice of
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Jamie Fox. The pair starts hanging out together along with
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bugs pals. Maggie Isla Fisher is a whip smart Australian shepherd
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with the best nose in the business who's been sidelined by
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her owner's cute new puppy.
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Hunter Randall Park is an anxious great Dane who failed as
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a police dog and now works as an emotional support animal for the
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elderly around his head is a plastic cone known as an
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Elizabethan collar which prevents him from scratching.
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Maggie cares for Hunter and Hunter for her, but so far
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neither has acted upon their reciprocal feelings. Truth be
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told.
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Despite his new friend's strong advice to ditch Doug forever,
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Reggie still harbors a strong desire to reunite with his
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lowlife owner, a road trip ensues with plenty of bumps
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along the way. Dan Perro has crafted a subversive comedy
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which Josh Greenbaum directs. It 's likely to have most appeal to
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a young adult, mostly male audience.
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All the dogs talk, even if humans can't understand them,
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the filmmakers have totally abandoned the idea of less is
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more copious sexual references. Innuendos and exclamations are
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rooted pun fully intended to this production. Apart from the
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frequent use of the F word, there are dick jokes of plenty.
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While dog defecation is another mainstay, Maggie is undoubtedly
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the nicest character in the piece.
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And Fisher's Aussie accent certainly stands out. Jamie Fox
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treats us to plenty of jive talking while Will Ferrell
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paints Reggie as loyal and conflicted. While Randall Park
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exposes hunters vulnerabilities. Josh Gad is a winner in a small
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role as Gus, a Labrador retriever who narrates his owner
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's life.
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Stray sets out to shock and it certainly achieves that but for
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all its moments I wanted and expected more. What I needed to
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see was a greater bucket of laughs. I found the film uneven
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in its plotting and that was disappointing. While the idea
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was sound, the execution was only mediocre Strays scores a
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six out of 10.
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