I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

At last, a dog movie that shepherds who had to move to get work in the city when they were young can understand and get! From the mad, untameable but intelligent dog that we all had to train when we were younger, we were captivated to see how the intelligent but time-worn and world-weary written-block author who always had dogs would cope with a new and crazy challenge. The voices in the background, the agent, the wife and the confused university daughter home for the weekend to 'check things out' only got in the way of the main character trying to figure out his newest dog, which led him him to a country-dog guru who figured him out, and you are left wondering, who cured who, the main character, or the dog! City folks will not get this movie, but country folks will. Well done!

I was looking for a heart warming movie for Christmas, couse i was tired of that nonsense sh*t that they give us in the television... So i was looking for a Jeff Bridges movie, just out of nowhere, it was a hunch :D The fact that a troubled man played by Jeff gets a trouble dog just sounded an interesting personality experiment. This movie was eye catching from the very first moment! I usually watch movie with playing on my tablet with my favorite game, but this time i had to take it down, and smile. A real dog-man relationship.And it teaches us something: how to accept someone else with the bad side, without changing him/her. No one need to change, we need to learn how to live together. It we all would be the same we could not make a difference, you would not be able to recognize anyone, couse everyone would be the exact same... Ugh...And the other lesson is how to learn to ask for help. And how to accept it! It is not easy to admit that you need someone else, couse you cannot make it on your own, it may ruins your pride. But we are mortal living things. Living together :) We still need to learn how to do it.So, it is a great Christmas movie! It never gets old.

The "Dude" is back. And with a dog. Jeff Bridges plays a struggling, middle-aged writer (Jon Katz) who of course has writers block, adopts an abused border collie. Another "crazy dog" who's hijinks resemble Marley from "Marley and Me." The dog is seemingly untrainable. Par for the course. Katz already has two wonderfully mannered labs. So why is Katz to blame for his so-called anger with the collie? Who wouldn't be frustrated. But as the wise old dog whisperer told Katz, it's not all about the dog, but Katz and his inner anger. Okay, well, I didn't see Katz or Bridges playing someone who was particularly nasty. But what to do about the writer's block? Then comes the cliché epiphany. Write about his experience with the collie. Viola! I like Bridges. Who doesn't. But this movie plodded along with the same "bad dog" gags one has seen a thousand times. And of course, there's redemption, as dog accepts man and vice versa. And all is well in the world. Not the greatest dog movie around. If it wasn't for Jeff Bridges, I wouldn't have kept watching.

Not your typical dog movie - here the dog actually acts like a real dog. No talking animals, no over-the-top staged smarts or heroics. It plays more like an episode of the Dog Whisperer - BEFORE they call in Cesar. Bridges plays a semi-creepy sad sack of a blocked writer who, through somewhat unclear circumstances, unwittingly and unwillingly adopts the border collie from hell. Having adopted a somewhat crazed border collie myself, I can say the dogs behavior and interactions with Bridges are spot on, and there is no need for the typical Hollywood (c.f. Beethoven) hyperbole - the dog is not quite the lovable scamp, and the Bridges' Katz is not a wholly sympathetic character. With a little unwelcome help from his friends, peace is eventually made between the writer and his dog. That's the good - the bad is this movie seems to be the anti-Marley - we only get a bare smattering of how the "adoption" came to pass, what the hell is going on between Katz and his family, and what happened to the other yellow lab? One gets the sense of script problems and/or a heavy hand in the editing room, which is too bad because while these details are not important, the missing pieces are distracting, and flaw this otherwise refreshingly realistic, yet still eminently watchable dog flick.