For decades Hollywood has made several films that make empty promises, specifically when it comes to making you think you’re seeing a movie that has dogs in it just to find out that you were duped. In several high profile movies dogs are used as the main attraction, but it’s just a trick to get you into the theatre.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Look at how the word “dogs” dominates the image by appearing much larger than any other aspect. The image also has the tagline “Every dog has his day” which gives the implication that you will be seeing multiple dogs throughout the movie. Wherever this reservoir of dogs is, they never pointed a camera at it. You would think that someone as meticulous about their craft as Quentin Tarantino is would have noticed this glaring oversight.
After the one hour and thirty nine minute movie was over I counted the amount of dogs that I observed in this movie to be zero.
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Dog Day Afternoon seems to imply that there is a day just for dogs. And on Dog Day, you’d think you would come across some dogs hanging out in the afternoon heat enjoying their day. Clocking in at two hours and thirty minutes I was expecting to be immersed in dogs on screen, and all I saw was a bank robber trying to amass enough money to get his lover a sex change operation. I even stuck it out until the credits had finished hoping that there would be an MCU style scene of a dog post credits, but again I was left with bitter disappointment in my search for the dogs that were promised, but never delivered.
The Dogs Of War (1980)
I thought that this movie would feature Christopher Walken facing off against an army of war dogs, but when it comes to dog content this movie’s bark is worse than its bite. It’s still a decent movie if you ignore that the filmmakers obviously relied on dog recognition to get people to see it. But deceiving your audience is no way to get ahead. No dogs in this one either.
Wag The Dog (1997)
Contrary to its title this movie is not about a dog named Wag, nor is it about any other dog. In fact the movie is about one big lie perpetrated on the people of America. Hollywood continues to set the expectation that dogs will appear on screen, but fails to deliver any dogs whatsoever.
Perhaps one day Hollywood will stop using the word “dog” in the titles of their blockbusters and be more honest about the dog content of their films. Until then, viewer discretion is advised.