Year Release: 2018
Directed by: Ken Marino
Starring: Nina Dobrev, Vanessa Hudgens Adam Pally, Eva Longoria, Ron Cephas Jones, Tone Bell
(PG, 112 min.)
Genre: Romantic Comedy

What it lack is pizazz and polish, it makes up for in sweetness and sincerity. And that's pretty good compared to the usual late summer comedies usually peppered with ridiculous plots and overreaching vulgarity.

Almost like the early efforts of an aspiring pastry cook – a little bland and not quite light enough. Topped with a few too many dollops of whipped cream and sprinkles that try to make up for those shortcomings.

It lacks the qualities of my favorite classic canine tales:

Iron Will’s high stakes and sense of urgency.

Eight Below’s canine perspective, not to mention Paul Walker’s melting blue eyes.

Marley and Me’s outrageous antics, with a canine star who could eviscerate the entire contents of their garage in less time than it takes the girls on “The View” to do the same to one of their guests.

In fact, the dogs on Dog Days are not really the stars but instead somewhat clichéd props for the entangled relationships of their dog owners. But the humans step out of the clichés the screenwriters tease us with and become – for the most part – real people we care about. Ron Cephas Jones as a widower who loses his pug Mabel stands head and shoulders above the pack.That and a very satisfying ending allows us to smile all the way to the car waiting in the steaming asphalt parking lot where the Dog Days of August persist beyond their calendar restrictions.

Which in these days of cynicism is not bad. Not bad at all.

Enjoy with an Exotic Cup of Jo, the kind made by barista Tara, who finds an abandoned Chihuahua that catapults her into a not so predictable romantic adventure.

–Kathy Borich
3 Drums