REVIEW: “Strays” Is A Hilarious Tale of Ferocious Doggos

In Strays, Reggie (Will Ferrell) is an innocent Border Terrier who has nothing but pure love for his owner Doug (Will Forte), who constantly abuses and mistreats the pup who wants nothing more than to be called a “good boy.” When a “game” of fetch results in Reggie’s abandonment in a city miles away from Doug, he meets Boston Terrier and fellow stray Bug, an Australian Shepherd named Maggie (Isla Fisher) who is cooling on her owner, and therapy Great Dane Hunter (Randall Park). When his new friends make him realize that Doug severely mistreated and systemically abused him, Reggie sets off on a journey of revenge with his new friends there to help him for the good of all canine kind. But will they succeed? And what will they learn about each other on the way?

Strays stars Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Will Forte, Sofía Vergara, Harvey Guillén, Josh Gad, Rob Riggle, Jamie Demetriou, and Brett Gelman. Josh Greenbaum is the director, and Dan Perrault is the screenwriter. Lord Miller Productions and Picturestart are the producers, and Universal Pictures is the distributor.

Strays feels familiar among the various rated R raunchy comedies of the last 14 years since The Hangover, but unique in that it centers, well, dogs. A raunchy comedy of cute dogs talking about sex and violence with tons of vulgarity? It works better than you might think as we get to know Reggie, Bug, Maggie, Hunter and the fellow canine friends they make along the way.

Strays does a lot to convey a surprisingly moving message about the bonds we have with man’s best friend and the various ways we humans can bolster or strengthen it. Through the dogs’ eyes, with Greenbaum’s effective direction and Perrault’s witty and poignant script, the story takes what we imagine about their daily lives and makes a somewhat believable story about how they view us and what they make of their place here. Besides being hilarious and, at times, absurdly violent, it’s an effective strategy that pays off through the film’s runtime.

The jokes are centered on what a dog’s daily experience is and how they likely view the world and humans. Similar to how what goes on in their heads can be a mystery to us, so it is a mystery to them as they, for example, wonder why we collect their poop or make fireworks that make the poor dogs feel like they’re under attack. Perrault’s script is as vulgar and witty, with a wide variety of jokes and comedic beats, ranging from the innocent to toilet humor and violence-based gags, that will see audiences laughing throughout the runtime.

But the film also has a great emotional depth for Reggie and his friends, buoyed by the effective CGI work on the dogs that isn’t the dull hyper-realism of a Disney live-action animal but not so cartoonish that it feels unrealistic. Our love for dogs as humans helps with this, as we’ve already assigned emotions to the facial expressions we see dogs make. Potentially there could have been room for more experimentation in the CGI on the dogs’ faces to make a wider range of emotions, but for what it is, it works.

And with the great vocal performances the actors give the dogs, you have the cast’s great voice work. Ferrell shines as Reggie, showcasing his emotional range from cute and innocent to ferociously vengeful and pensive. While Reggie is the main protagonist and has his journey centered, Bug is a very effective co-protagonist as he undergoes his journey in the film. With Foxx’s hilarious and heartfelt vocal performance and the subtle CGI work on the dog that emphasizes his inherent cuteness, you’ll root for Bug throughout the film, who even seems more sympathetic than Reggie at times.

Maggie and Hunter make for another hilarious pair who get to have their own journeys be present as well. Namely, both characters undergo a journey to increase their own confidence in different ways that I won’t spoil here. Fisher is hilarious as she eats up her lines and makes Maggie highly relatable for both dogs and humans. Park as Hunter is also hilarious, as his deadpan performance fits the droopy face of the Great Dane so well. As Hunter gets more visibly confident, so does Park in his tone and diction. Across our four main doggos, there’s an effective balance of visuals and voice work that make for great depictions on the screen.

Strays is one of the best comedies of the year. With a witty script by Dan Perrault, a great variety of jokes rooted in the dog experience, solid direction from Josh Greenbaum, and tremendous vocal performances, it makes for both a hilarious and moving time at the theater. In doing so, it might even make you appreciate the life experience of dogs at least a little bit more.

Strays is out in theaters Friday, August 18th.