Entertainment Ave! In Your House - A movie/DVD review of Old Dogs.

Old Dogs Movie Stats & Links
Starring:	John Travolta, Robin Williams, Seth Green, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston
MPAA Rated:	PG
Released By:	Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Kiddie Movie:	Yup, it's one for the family. It's PG, but pretty safe for all.
Date Movie:	If she's seeing it with you while with your children.
Gratuitous Sex:	Um, no, but some hints that will fly over the kids heads.
Gratuitous Violence:	Slapstick/comedy type.
Action:	Nah.
Laughs:	No surprises, but there are some laughs.
Memorable Scene:	I still like the scene where Dan ends up with the savage tan.
Memorable Quote:	None.
Directed By:	Walt Becker
Cool Things About the Blu-ray
Learn French!	It's got the various language choices.
Buy a New TV!	It's always better when it's bigger.
Buy a New Stereo!	No need. The TV speakers are fine.
Anything Else!	The 3-Disc combo pack is nice with the Digital copy but the extras are pretty lame.

The plot isn't that complicated. You have two dudes, Charlie (John Travolta) and Dan (Robin Williams). They are business partners and friends, on the brink of the deal of their career. Enter old love of Dan, Vicki (Kelly Preston), who, surprise-surprise, has two kids that are Dan's kids (seems a fun trip in the sun led to some little tykes). Well, Vicki has to leave for a little while and wants Dan to watch the kids, so yup, you get the standard fare of a new dad being uncomfortable with the kids he didn't know he had; You get the business deal gone wrong, but then right; You get the happy ending because, well, this is Disney fare and Disney knows happy ending.

What you also get, and what I couldn't stand in the theater, was generic joke after generic joke, obvious scene after obvious scene, and for some reason, on my TV, it played out a lot better. Maybe it's because I didn't dread seeing it on my TV the way I was kind of dreading seeing it when I went to the theater, or maybe it's just because, well, I don't know, but for some generic, slapstick comedy, "Old Dogs" proves to do exactly what it is supposed to set out to do - Give some family fun for about an hour and a half.

As such, I think when I originally saw the movie in the theater I figured it was about a 1 star movie, but dammit, if I didn't laugh again when Dan had the savage tan, and even the scenes I've seen a million times in the trailer seemed funny. So, I'm revising my original thought and saying that "Old Dogs" is a 3 star out of 5 movie for giving you exactly what you will expect, and still making you laugh.

As far as the extras on the Blu-ray and DVD, there isn't that much, which actually stopped me from giving the 3-Disc combo pack 3 ½ Stars, but then I guess this really isn't the kind of movie you need it. There is a blooper reel that isn't very funny and there are some deleted scenes that were best left on the cutting room floor on both versions, and you get some commentary stuff if you want some "insight" into how a movie like "Old Dogs" comes to be. On the Blu-ray you also get the "Young Dogs Learn Old Tricks" feature where the two child starts “interview” John Travolta and Robin Williams, and a music video to fill some time.

As far as a movie for the family, you get exactly what the trailers show, and sometimes that's a good thing. A better thing would have been a DVD package that wasn’t just extra stuff that is bad.