Old Dogs .... chews a tired old bone.

Old Dogs has all the hallmarks of a formulaic family comedy produced by Disney. John Travolta and Robin Williams team up as two friends who run a successful marketing business and are on the brink of the biggest deal of their careers before their past catches up on them.

The story of a hapless and clueless father whose children suddenly appear and are dumped on him for a fortnight had the potential to comment on a number of things; most importantly ageism and the role of absentee fathers, but is so full of cliches that it ends up being an embarrassing tumble  of formulaic slapstick scenes. Travolta never quite makes it believable as the personable playboy, Williams apologetic in his role as a financial brains behind the business.

The plot quickly falls apart with the introduction of too many themes and variables. With half of the film based in the boardroom and the other in fairgrounds; its difficult to decide on what audience its trying to reach, and at the end ensuring its not accessible to neither children nor adults.

Most of the cultural faux pas may have been amusing ten years ago; but one would hope that we as an audience have matured beyond making fun of the asian culture, of same sex marriages and of toilet humour.  The plot is so full of improbable and outrageous situations, the audiences belief needs to be completely suspended before any enjoyment can be obtained.

Despite its hit and mostly miss plot, this film is (embarrassingly) full of belly laughs.  Although most gags can be seen building a mile away, they are still enjoyable when they peak. Particularly amusing are the references to getting older, the creaks and groans ones body makes informing all it is not as young as it used to be and of the blunders young parents make.  If you are a sucker for predictable gags, shots of cute animals adding their silent comments on the action, then this film will fit your bill perfectly.

As to be expected with a Disney film, the main characters see the errors of their ways, make extraordinary efforts to right the wrongs they have committed and the family unit is reunited once again. 

Although Old Dogs is flawed in many ways, its undemanding on the mind and perfect for a Sunday afternoon session for the whole family.


An interesting aside - For the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, Old Dogs was nominated in four categories: Worst Picture, Worst Actor for John Travolta, Worst Supporting Actress for Kelly Preston and Worst Director for Walt Becker, but did not win any of them.. in fact , despite its negative feedback and criticism, it ended up being a minor box office success.


Film Poster via Wikipedia.


For the record, I did enjoy it, laughed alot; but was kind of embarrassed afterwards....

Buddha Birthday Festival - Kids Performance

Although Morgan and Lilly went to the rehearsals for a month beforehand, on the day, Morgan was really ill with the flu and couldn't go. Lilly made it up for both of them!

Here are the two links to the kids performance at the opening of the Buddhas Birthday Celebrations at Southbank this year.


First Song


Second Song

Miss Lilly is the little grey bunny rabbit with the yellow (?) ears

Wizards of Waverly Place a Winner

My second DVD review..

"Wizards of Waverly Place" focuses on the Russo family who live in a suburban TV style large city. With a fairly typical middle class family,( which includes a mother, father and three kids) they live a normal life; except that the children are wizards in training a fact they attempt to hide from friends and other family members with sometimes disastrous results. Disney won several awards when this was first aired, and for good reasons.

Most of the story lines focus on the sibling rivalry between the children as the rules within this magical world is that only one child in a family may keep their powers. As each episode is revealed, the audiences opinions as to which one is likely to be triumphant, changes. When all of the children within the family turn 18 a family competition is to be held to determine who keeps their power. This is a constant threat and promise throughout the episodes. Each episode looks at how each child wields their powers and the lessons they may learn from abusing or using it.

The show is a definite winner in the Tweenage market; but has plenty of humour and one liners which keeps older family members amused. Although the humour can be a little cheesy, its clean and doesn’t lower itself into bathroom behaviour or language to gain its laughs. As it is rated PG, the material is suitable for young children and contains very little ‘scary’ or unnerving aspects.

The storylines are held together by strong characters, who unlike may family sit coms, are not perfect. The family members are accessible and believable to a wide range of young people. The Russos are dysfunctional on a number of levels, proving that even with special powers, themes of sibling rivalry, jealousy, bickering and love are constant throughout. Although the characters may fight amongst themselves or compete, they still manage to stay friends; upholding the Disney banner of blood being thicker than water and the importance of family ties.

The Episodes reviewed came from Season 1, Volume 2 ; which was launched this week in stores. The titles include Curb Your Dragon, Movies, Pop Me And We Both Go Down, Potion Commotion, Justin's Little Sister, Wizard School Part 1, Wizard School Part 2.

My kids loved it and have watched the entire series twice this week. ( ages 5 and 7)