Zeus and Roxanne (1997)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

George Miller

Writer (WGA):

Tom Benedek (written by)

Release Date:

24 January 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance

Plot:

Mary Beth is a marine biologist that gets annoyed when a dog called Zeus stows aboard her research boat...

Plot Keywords:

Dolphin | Dog | Love | Family Relationships | Research Ship

Cast

Steve Guttenberg	...	Terry Barnett
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Mary Beth Dunhill
Arnold Vosloo	...	Claude Carver
Dawn McMillan	...	Becky
Miko Hughes	...	Jordan Barnett
Majandra Delfino	...	Judith Dunhill
Jessica Howell	...	Nora Dunhill
Duchess Tomasello	...	Mrs. Rice
Shannon K. Foley	...	Linda, Claude's Assistant
Jim R. Coleman	...	Phil, Claude's Assistant
Alvin Farmer	...	Floyd
Harri James	...	Airline Attendant
Justin Humphrey	...	Craig
James Stone	...	Security Guard
Maury Covington	...	Reverend

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. (w) | Portugal:M/6 (video premiere) | UK:U (video premiere) | USA:PG | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Soundtrack:

YOU NEVER CAN TELL

A fun movie for the family with great animal antics

I got "hooked" on this movie while I was waiting to pay for a clock radio at my local electronics show. They had "Zeus and Roxanne" playing on a big screen tv by the cashier's area. The movie had just started and I watched a great scene of animal antics where Zeus the dog creates mayhem in the neighborhood through his obsession with chasing a cat. I've always been a sucker for movies featuring animal antics, and this one is chock full of them. It reminded me of the old "Flipper" tv shows, only with a somewhat more exotic locale.

The story line is that a widowed composer and his son and dog (the aforementioned Zeus) move into a house on some Florida Key (actually filmed in the Bahamas). By chance their neighbor is a marine biologist and has two daughters. Anyway, Zeus and the cat bring father and mother together, which leads to Zeus discovering Roxanne, a dolphin raised in captivity that the mother biologist is trying to re-introduce into a dolphin "pod." Zeus and Roxanne can "talk" with each other, leading to attempts by a nasty "animal-unfriendly" scientist to want to use Roxanne for his own selfish ends.

Sure the plot is contrived and filled with obvious gags, etc. but at least it has an interesting and environmentally correct theme, and the animals do a great job of keeping the movie visually interesting. I particularly enjoyed the way the camera shots were laid out so that viewers get an "animal's eye view" throughout the movie.

Unlike many "art" films, this story at least makes sense, shows people (including children) doing worthwhile things and being nice to each other. Another plus is the use of minority actors in non-stereotype roles.