Old Dogs
The old dogs, Charlie and Dan (John Travolta and Robin Williams) are lifelong best friends who own an incredibly successful sports marketing company. Things are going smoothly for the two bachelors as they close in on the biggest business deal of their lives, when all of a sudden their lives are turned upside down by two unexpected 7 yr olds. Dan discovers hes the father of twins and now he and Uncle Charlie are in a pickle having no experience with children, what so ever! Will the two survive the list of activities the twins have planned for them? Or are these dogs too old to learn new tricks?
Starring John Travolta, Robin Williams, Kelly Preston, Conner Rayburn, Ella Bleu Travolta, Seth Green, Bernie Mac, Lori Loughlin, and Matt Dillon.
No Fancy Tricks
I found this to be a moderately funny family/kids film. It wasn’t extravagant by any means. The dialogue wasn’t incredibly clever nor did it have a thriller plot (too predictable), but still it delivered enjoyable clean family humor. I do believe that is what Disney was going for with this film. It was nothing over the top, just a simple film to entertain a mixed family audience.
There were some comical parts, but unfortunately they were all shown in the previews. That kind of stunk, but they were still enjoyable to watch. There may have been a few extra laughs thrown in there, but I’m pretty sure most of them were previews. The medicine mix up was probably the finniest bit of the entire film. A little cheesy, but still funny all the same. I had a pretty good laugh.
Travolta and Williams were definitely the comedy throughout the film as well as Bernie Mac. I’ll have to say that I was a little disappointed with Williams character. I realize he was in a more subdued roll than normal, but I still missed the goofiness. All the acting was really great actually. New comers Ella Bleu Travolta and Conner Rayburn did an excellent job playing the twins. Seth Green was just plain funny. I wish he would have been in the film a little more, but what can you do? Kelly Preston, Lori Loughlin, and Matt Dillon were all quite comical as well. I really enjoyed all the cast members. They all seemed to have great chemistry. That always makes things run a little more smoothly and much easier on the viewers.
Old Dogs would make a great family night film, especially if you have children that are a little older. So, give it a shot! You may not love it, but you aren’t going to be monstrously disappointed either. It definitely wouldn’t be a waste of your time to watch, but I’m also not 100% sure its worth going out and purchasing. It would be a great one to rent.
Visuals and Audio
1080p High Definition/ 1.85:1
English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles- English SDH, French and Spanish
Things looked and sounded great. I don’t think you’re going to get more crisp details unless you are standing there yourself. The coloring was great along with the sharpness of all the detailing. Most of the scenes were outside so you get a great natural spread of colors and lighting. It was great visually. The sound was also wonderful. Being mainly dialogue driven the sound was up front, but the surrounding sounds were excellent and easily distinguishable when needed. Everything was nice and clear.
Special Features
Disc 1: Blu-ray + Bonus
Exclusive to Disney Combo Pack:
-Young Dogs Learn Old Tricks
-Music Video “You’ve Been A Friend To Me” Performed by Bryan Adams
-Bloopers
-Deleted Scenes
-Music Video “Every Little Step Performed” by John Travolta and Ella Bleu Travolta
-Audio Commentary by Director Walt Becker, Producer Andrew Panay and Writers David Diamond and David Weissman
Disc 2: DVD + Bonus
-Bloopers
-Deleted Scenes
-Music Video
-Audio Commentary
Disc 3: Digital Copy