The Dogwalker (1999)

Director:

Paul Duran

Writer:

Paul Duran (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It's a dog's life but somebody's got to lead it.

Plot:

Jerry Cooper is The Dogwalker, a Tom Sawyer grown up for the nineties, who having fallen on hard times...

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Sex | Bridge | Love Triangle | Male Female Relationship

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Will Stewart	...	Jerry
Stepfanie Kramer	...	Helene
Tony Todd	...	Mones
John Randolph	...	Ike
Cress Williams	...	K.C.
Walter Jones	...	Blonde Guy
Carol Gustafson	...	Alma
Nicki Aycox	...	Susan (as Nicki Lynn Aycox)
Allan Rich	...	Sam
Stacey Williams	...	Darlene
Murray Leaward	...	Abe
Tony Carreiro	...	Don
Gabriel Dell	...	The Musician (as Gabe Dell)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Traci Carter Holsey	...	Girlfriend (as Traci Carter)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Rita Films

I hope that life isn't really like this

My problem with this movie is that it is amoral. I think that any representation of reality should contain an uplifting moral for life, and i think that is an important function of art.

This movie is genuinely funny in parts, but is racist, sexist and in many other respects stereotypical. There is the desperate housewife, the dumb, emotionally-absent husband more interested in playing golf than in his family, the sexually-precocious daughter, the cantankerous mother; and the racial stereotypes placed upon Gerry's three African-American friends are disappointing, as is their involvement with the drug culture. I don't like to think that ordinary people are so shallow as to be deceitful, lying, perfidious, and that drugs are so everyday a part of existence.

Throughout the movie the African-American characters are never more than companions for somebody else, and fail to present desirable social role models.

I'm sure the director would say that there is an overall message of the movie; that is that there is no morality in life. Relationships are short-lived and you just make do with things you've got. So perhaps this movie is realistic, but as i say i hope it isn't; and even then, i don't believe that should be the point of art.

For that reason i give it an 8 out of 10 - it does not shy away from depicting people as they really are, and it is genuinely funny in places, and in fact it is a memorable movie to watch. The only genuine characters are the dog Lucky and Gerry, the drifter. Perhaps that is what the director intended.