Review of Gone Doggy Gone (2014) by Joseph H — 12 Jul 2015

"Gone Doggy Gone" is one of the funniest comedies I saw last year, and definitely one of the most deserving of my laughter. Written and directed by Kasi Brown and Brandon Walter, the audience is introduced to Abby and Eliott Harmon (Brown and Walter, respectively), a married, child-less couple, who, to their friends' vexation, obsessively care for their small dog, Laila, as if it's a baby, but when their dogsitter, Jill (Shaina Vorspan), decides to kidnap Laila for ransom, the Harmons pull out all the stops to try to get their "furbaby" back.

I'm a huge fan of character-driven comedies, so this ended up being quite my cup of tea. The virtually never-ending barrage of punchlines is merely a method to illuminate aspects of this endearing group of personalities to the viewer. All of these characters feel like real people, and none of the comedy destroys that suspension of disbelief.

Cinematography in comedies, while acceptable from a technical standpoint, typically doesn't aspire to be much more than just a documentation of improv, but the photography in "Gone Doggy Gone" not only is technically flawless but occasionally adds to the comedy with visual cues as well. As far as audio, there's really nothing to complain about. The score is not really anything you haven't heard before, but it does its job.

Though a couple conflicts in the story seem a little too easily dealt with, Gone Doggy Gone is easily something I'd recommend to anyone. It's sweet yet edgy, sexy without being raunchy (though it comes really close) and most importantly, strikes an emotional chord - that is, if you sympathize with Abby's feelings about babies. And come on - that dog is adorable.