Wiener-Dog

I don't really need critically-revered, successful director Todd Solondz to tell me life is awful and that we all die failures.

More Solondz about the misery of existence. He is perhaps less overtly misanthropic than he used to be, but the notion of him being an 'unconventional humanist' is a sick joke perpetuated by his fanbase who probably dislike people as much as he does. The concept had potential, but its so drearily executed that it hardly matters, and none of the stories are remotely interesting aside from Devito's, who plays a burned out college professor begrudgingly resigned to failure. Solondz should retire.

I got away from Solondz after Palindromes, but this is about more of the same. He's an imaginative director, and Wiener-Dog is a pretty funny comedy. Mostly it's just awkward (like the rest of his stuff that I've seen), but there were parts that made me laugh. It does come across sometimes like he's just making characters to mock them, and I would never say there's any real drama here, but it's an entertaining watch with occasional brilliant moments and good, understated cinematography.

This ain't no dark comedy, there being no element of comedy as the term implies. It's not even melancholy, it's just depressing. Hell, even the dog is about as un-endearing as a dog can get, and I love dogs. OK, the quick last two scenes might be considered darkly comedic and an appropriate punchline, but that just can't justify sitting through the rest of it, even if the extended setup is necessary. I daresay most people don't understand the next to last scene, as I didm't for a while.

Solondz called this latest work of his "a comedy of despair" at the screening I attended & informed us that it was ok to laugh but it was also ok not to laugh. That sums up his films really. While I and those behind me chortled throughout, the women beside me in the theatre remained in stony silence punctuated by the odd restless shifting in their seats. There is only a very tenuous link here to 'Welcome to the Dollhouse' so don't go in expecting a sequel and you should have a grimly great time.

If you want to watch it for the dog, spare yourself this. These are four unconnected sort stories. In all of them, the characters feel over the top. Each has one or two funny or touching moments, but overall the stories feel unnatural and forced. As some other user wrote, maybe the last story could work as a short movie on its own. The cinematography is nice though.

It feels Todd Solondz, but not as complex. Still good but not as impressive as his early work. I do love that Danny Devito is in this

Basically mean spirited with few redeeming features except for the excellent cast. It's fine for a film to be macabre, but it must be done in a considered way which is not the case here. The final vignette involving Zoe and Fantasy would make a decent short film.

A deceptively "cute" film from the macabre Solondz, though these four stories do vary in how they rejoice in dog ownership: the first two seem to show the positive aspects of the dog that bring people together, whereas the other two show the desperation the owners use the dog as companionship to assuage their dour and disappointing lives. Would be harder to watch if not for how well the actors do with their characters, particularly Burstyn, and Solondz certainly knows how to end a film :(

Kid asked good question#s and Devito brought some real class but hipster's who think they're Hogarth gotta realise grotesque =/= comedy.

This is a weird, dark and interesting film. The film tells a number of stories that are all connected by the title dog. I would recommend this film for fans of Todd Solondz.

Low-key examination of life, death and mortality struggles to find focus (or frankly much depth) to the points its trying to make, instead relying on an eclectic cast to elevate the material -- thankfully it is studded with excellent performances; highlighted by DeVito (never better in a grimly touching and amusing portrait of ageing failure) and Culkin's exquisite dead-pan line readings -- the resolution of his character works especially well. Linking device of the dog works tenuously at best.

The tale of a brown female dachshund who moves randomly through life and a series of owners, finding only indifference and cruelty along the way.

A cute kind of portmanteau film in which the main feature is the infectious feelgood atmosphere and quirky humour scattered throughout. I particularly enjoyed Greta Gerwig and Kieran Culkin's story which was written and played to perfection. The Zosia Mamet and Ellen Burstyn segment was also amusing in a cartoonish way. However, I disliked Danny DeVito's part and it made me realise how shallow and monotonic all the parts in this film really are. There's literally no character depth whatsoever.

Au Hasard Balthazar as directed by Nietzsche.

"I wanted it to be funny, I wanted people to like it, I wanted it to sell. So I threw in mixed-up identities, I threw in the sex jokes, the Mafia--a little shtick--everyone likes a little shtick."

Pretty interesting movie with fun characters and some random shit around them. Though sometimes scenes don't work at all, the movie is almost throughout engaging and rarely boring.

Solondz hasn't been able to top his masterpiece "Happiness", but at least this one is a step above from "Life During Wartime" which I found boring and forgettable. It's nicely shot, has a very good cast of Indie darlings and a nice score. I just didn't find the stories that interesting and the whole Wiener-dog device felt like an unnecessary way to tie the stories together. I'd love to see Solondz leave scripting duties to another writer with similar voice than his.

Neither Solondz's best nor his worst.

This movie made me so sad, but also caused me to laugh really hard, even though at some points I felt so very ashamed for laughing. And quite uncomfortably I found some of my own traits pretty well portrayed. To me "Wiener-Dog" is a persuading, tongue-in-cheek humoured picture of today's society, its supposed winners and poor losers.

Worth watching for the segment involving Danny DeVito playing a Solondz-inspired film professor. Hilariously bleak and on point.

This was a good bit of fun. I always enjoy the comic bookish, nebbishy characters of Todd Solondz. Although the story wouldn't have come full circle I wished the ending was one scene shorter.

Thankfully I watched this in a packed theater at a festival. People were giggling and laughing all movie long but woe you kill the dog. The room that felt so good watching all these weak characters fail all of a sudden turned ethical. That's this movie. Haha, What a pile of lazy filmmaking - inventing stupid characters to make fun of them. Wiener Dog is like an old Coen-brothers-movie - but with far less talent and far less to say.

Au Hasard Balthasar meets Benji, and that's a pretty fitting way to describe the way the film uses crass comedy to propel its grim reflections on mortality. Much of the film is concerned with legacy and how little of it we leave behind or, maybe, how easy it is to inadvertently leave your mark. The titular dachshund moves from owner to owner, blissfully unaware of its importance in each person's life. But the people all seem unable to reconcile their hopes with their outcomes.