Old Dogs (2009) Review: Ranking Robin Williams’ Worst Family Comedy
Is Old Dogs (2009) a good movie? No, Old Dogs is a lazy, horribly written, and deeply unfunny 2009 family comedy. Despite starring Robin Williams and John Travolta, the bizarre plot choices and cursed CGI effects drop this film to the very bottom tier of our ultimate movie ranking and review.
The Premise: What is Old Dogs About?
Dan (Robin Williams) and Charlie (John Travolta) are longtime best friends trying to save their struggling marketing firm while securing a major overseas deal. Just as things get complicated, Dan discovers he is the father of seven-year-old twins from a past relationship, and is forced into single fatherhood when their mother goes to jail. The two men must juggle parenting with corporate pressure, allegedly learning what really matters.
What Works: The Camping Trip
When the kids demand to go camping, we finally get a few genuine laughs. Even though the writers clearly don't know the difference between a family camping trip and a summer camp, it is the only part of the movie that feels like the film we were promised.
What Doesn't Work: Everything Else
The setup is entirely convoluted. The film pretends the kids are the emotional core, but they barely exist outside of shuttling the plot from one bad set-piece to the next. The formula is simply: something bad happens to Robin, everyone laughs; something bad happens to John, everyone laughs.
Instead of focusing on fatherhood, an absurd amount of time is spent on a cartoonish business subplot where Seth Green goes to Japan solely to be held hostage by a fake gorilla. Furthermore, the movie subjects audiences to cursed, nightmare-fuel CGI face filters when the leads mix up their medications. Finally, the titular "Old Dog" only exists to be incontinent and then die so the leads can reconcile at its funeral.
The Robin Williams Ranking & Performance Score
Robin Williams Performance Score:RETIRED Out of respect for Robin's battle with undiagnosed Lewy Body Dementia, we have officially retired our performance score rating.
Good Mourning Robin Ranking: In our ranking, it is an absolute disaster, sitting below Jack and hovering right above August Rush.
FAQ: Old Dogs (2009) Movie
Who stars in Old Dogs? The film stars Robin Williams and John Travolta as longtime best friends and business partners.
Why is the movie called Old Dogs? The title refers to the two older main characters having to learn "new tricks" (parenting), but it also literally features an elderly, incontinent dog that dies to serve the plot.
Is Old Dogs a good movie? Our review strongly pans the film for its lazy writing, lack of focus on actual fatherhood, and terrifying use of CGI smile filters.
