Entourage meets Ladder 49 in Firehouse Dog, a silly but entertaining mix of show business satire and blue-collar heroics that will captivate any pooch-loving kid who's ever dreamed of being a fireman. A pretty thin demographic that, which probably explains the film's modest returns Stateside. Still, the energetic combo of four-legged comedy and two-legged derring-do makes for an engaging half-breed, that gives rising teen star Josh Hutcherson, recently seen in Bridge To Terabithia, another opportunity to show his sensitive side.
Feted in Tinseltown for such blockbuster vehicles as The Fast And The Furriest and Jurassic Bark, Rexxx is the biggest movie mutt since Rin Tin Tin. But fate has other plans for this latter-day Lassie, dumping him out of an airplane at 30,000 feet and into the care of Shane (Hutcherson), the 12-year-old son of a sturdy firefighter (Bruce Greenwood) battling to keep his delapidated station open. Appalled by Rexxx's flatulence, his need for neatness and his nasty habit of defecating in meals, Shane can't wait to get shot of his new pet. Gradually, however, the pesky pooch starts to prove his worth, earning the boy's grudging respect and a reprieve for the firehouse in the process.
"WELCOME EMOTIONAL GRAVITY"
Peppered with some distinctly adult humour and a Backdraft-style subplot involving a serial arsonist, Todd Holland's shaggy dog tale maybe tries to cover too much ground en route to its cuddly conclusion. Shane's strained relationship with his dad brings a welcome emotional gravity to the story, though, while the canine stunts are a hoot.
Firehouse Dog is out in the UK on 20th July 2007.