Jamie Foxx made dark comedy 'Strays' oddly funny
Jamie Foxx made dark comedy 'Strays' oddly funny
From couches to stray dogs, Randall Park, Sofia Vergara and Will Ferrell star in R-rated pet film
Dark humor is one of those categories you either absolutely love or cringe when you hear it. And even if you do like dark humor, the person telling the joke definitely has to be someone you like. Otherwise, you’ll revert right back to the “ouch” face as soon as the jokes come out of their mouths. That was the case with the Amazon Prime 2023 film “Strays.”
The casting directors knew exactly what they were doing by casting Jamie Foxx as the loud-mouthed, bossy Boston Terrier named Bugs. Per usual, Foxx delivered in some of the most excruciating scenes. I even laughed at the obvious jokes, and I’m not just talking about Sofia Vergara being the voice of Bugs’ humping couch Dolores.
In the movie’s plot, Doug (played by Will Forte) got a dog because his girlfriend wanted one of the puppies outside of a store. But when the dog Reggie (played by Ferrell) showed up at the dinner table with a woman’s underwear in his mouth, which didn’t belong to the girlfriend, that was the end of that relationship. And because Doug is an unapologetic jerk, he refused to part ways with a dog he didn’t even want.
Instead of handing Reggie over to the now-ex-girlfriend, Doug just yelled at the dog, gave him insulting nicknames, and ignored him except for driving to random locations to play Fetch. That Fetch game was intended to make Reggie never return home, but Reggie kept finding his way back — until he didn’t.
And that was when Reggie became an accidental stray, finally being able to go on pee breaks more than once daily, learning what his original name was, making stray dog friends, hanging out at dog parks, investigating invisible fences, getting into trouble with Animal Control, plotting a very strange “key” escape and more.
Recommended Read: “When will someone admit that dog parks are like beauty salons? ~ You can always find these characters at both places”
Ferrell took on the more serious role as Reggie, and viewers like me just felt sorry for the poor Border Terrier. I was also 100% in agreement with the goal Reggie, Bugs and a Great Dane named Hunter (played by Randall Park) came up with for Reggie’s return home.
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Although Hunter was almost as pitiful as Reggie — imagine a failed police dog who preferred wearing a cone — I still giggled at everything Park said because I kept thinking of how hilarious he was in Netflix’s “Always Be My Maybe.” (Salute to Keanu Reeves, just because.)
In real life, Doug would’ve probably been arrested for animal cruelty and should’ve gotten punched in the nose a few times. In “Strays,” well, dog-loving-movie watchers will just have to see what really happens. I give this movie 5 out of 5 stars for making such an unfunny topic so delightful to watch — again and again and again.
Shamontiel is a dog lover to her core: 587 completed walks with 99 dogs, eight dog-housesittings and six dog boardings at the time of this publication.
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