Year of the Dog (film)
| Year of the Dog | |
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Promotional poster
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| Directed by | Mike White |
| Produced by | Mike White Ben Le Clair Dede Gardner |
| Written by | Mike White |
| Starring |
Molly Shannon Peter Sarsgaard John C. Reilly Laura Dern Regina King Thomas McCarthy Josh Pais |
| Music by | Christophe Beck |
| Cinematography | Tim Orr |
| Edited by | Dody Dorn |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Paramount Vantage |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1,604,168 |
Year of the Dog is a 2007 comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike White, and starring Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Regina King, Thomas McCarthy, Josh Pais, John C. Reilly and Peter Sarsgaard. The film describes the process of a woman that goes from having one pet dog at home to becoming a vegan and an animal rights activist.
It premiered January 20, 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
Shannon stars as Peggy, a forty-something administrative assistant whose social and love life are slim to nil. Her most intimate bond is with her dog, Pencil. One morning Pencil refuses to come in after being let out to do his business, and a half-awake Peggy lets him stay outside overnight. The next morning she finds him in the yard of her neighbor Al (John C. Reilly) whimpering in pain. She takes him to a vet but it is too late; Pencil dies of toxic poisoning.
The people in her life react with sympathy but mostly make her feel guilty for her grief. Best friend Layla (Regina King) tells Peggy her relationship with Pencil had held her back from finding romance. Her emotionally sterile sister-in-law (Laura Dern) and brother Pier (Thomas McCarthy) are too self-absorbed to sense how deeply hurt Peggy is.
Peggy's neighbor, Al, asks Peggy on a date. It starts out well until Al reveals that he lost his own pet dog by accidentally shooting it in a hunting accident. When the two return to his home he shows off his knife collection and hunting trophies. He is oblivious to Peggy's distaste for this. She asks to see his garage, suspicious that something inside poisoned Pencil. Al makes a pass which she rejects in disgust.
Peggy gets a call from Newt (Peter Sarsgaard), a volunteer at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who was present when Pencil died. He tells Peggy he has a new dog she may like to adopt: Valentine, a King Shepherd with behavioral problems. Newt agrees to help train Valentine, and he and Peggy begin to spend a lot of time together.
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