“My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story” DVD Review
MY DOG: AN UNCONDITIONAL LOVE STORY explores the unique relationship between people and their beloved pets through candid interviews with notable dog lovers. Viewers are offered an intimate glimpse into the lives of these actors and musicians, authors and designers through the aspect of their lives that unites them all: the profound connection they have with their dogs. A tribute to all the dogs that have made our lives richer and happier, MY DOG captures the remarkable bond between our dogs and ourselves. In appreciation, twenty percent of every dollar earned by the film will be donated to nonprofit animal welfare charities designated by our participants.
Synopsis
My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story explores the unique relationship between humans and their canine companions through candid interviews with famous dog lovers such as Richard Gere and Carey Lowell, Edward Albee, Edie Falco, Isaac Mizahri, and Glenn Close. Viewers are offered an intimate glimpse into the lives of these actors and musicians, authors and designers through the aspect of their lives that unites them all: the profound connection they have with their dogs. A tribute to the dogs that have made our lives richer and happier, MY DOG captures the remarkable bond that see us through the best and worst of time and makes us better, kinder people.
Growing up my family never had dogs around the house up until about ten or fifteen years ago. But prior to that I can remember dog sitting for neighbors over the years and through that I realized what kind of bond you can form with these animals; some of my neighbors had moved away so I never saw the dogs after that, but others are still in my neighborhood and I still visit them on occasion. It’s an incredibly fulfilling experience whenever you’re around dogs simply because of their nature (although I’ve met a few who are really of no joy to be around, but that’s another story) and there’s a lot in this documentary that really just celebrates the very existence of dogs and all that they do for us in our daily lives.
Really the “stars” of the film are there just to get an audience for the piece; the actual stars are the dogs, of course, but even then the stars profiled in the documentary really don’t leave much of an impact on the viewer. Richard Gere is arguably the biggest of the bunch, but he is really not all that prominent in the piece and it’s the lesser-heard-of individuals who offer their insight into being a dog owner and all that they can do for you that resonates more with you. Having said that one of the bigger stars of the bunch, Lynn Redgrave, also told one of the most memorable and heart-warming stories out of the entire documentary so they all play their part obviously.
The documentary is truly a delight to watch, but it’s also kind of an odd duck since it’s a mere fifty-minutes in length and it really isn’t much more than a bunch of people sitting around talking about the joy of having dogs. There is some interesting insight offered between them, of course, what with the varying levels of dog owners (single, married couples, families) being represented here and all giving up what they think it means to have a furry friend as a part of your daily life. I can’t say for sure that I actually got much out of the documentary, but it did put a smile on my face for the short duration that it ran.
Overall My Dog is a Recommended documentary for dog lovers. There is no sad tear-jerker scene here—it’s all pretty much just happiness all around (although the shelter segment was mildly depressing, but that’s just the nature of shelters—there’s no real upside to the story of the dogs who don’t get adopted) but I’m sure it will make you appreciate your dog even more…and then promptly give it a big hug.
The DVD
docuramafilms brings My Dog to DVD in a standard single disc DVD case with a disc that boasts art that mimics the cover. Menus are simple and easy to navigate and there is actually a decent collection of extras here. Video and audio is satisfactory, with a solid transfer from start to finish and crystal clear DD2.0 audio.
Extras include a collection of Deleted Scenes and Interviews (17 minutes) which do add to the film, but I can see why they weren’t left in as they’re more anecdotal asides than anything. There are some Filmmaker Biographies and Trailers as well but nothing other than that. It is pretty light on the extras but a decent disc to pick up and then pass around to your fellow dog lover friends. Recommended.
My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story is now available on DVD.