Strays (2023)

"Doug" (Will Forte) has had enough of a dog ("Reggie") that he only kept to spite his ex-girfriend on whom he was cheating. Each day he takes it on a ball-hunt only to drive away and leave him. Usually he manages to find his way home so an even longer journey is needed, and that's when "Reggie" - lost and faced with some nasty hoodlum-hounds - encounters the feisty "Bug" and the two become firm friends before having a series of adventures meeting new friends and foes as they try to get him home to his owner - only this time with a much less obedient ouch-agenda. Dog lovers may love this, and the script is at times quite wittily put together using the skills of Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx to keep the pacy drama moving along quite well for ninety minutes. It's a feel-good film with just an hint of canine attitude but after a while the joke wears a bit thin and the story finds itself in a repetitive rut. It's telly fodder, and quite amusing at that, but if you're not a pet fan (I'm not) then it's appeal is limited and the ending is straight out of a slapstick movie (and not a good one).