Search - Wiener-Dog on DVD

B.J. W. (analogkid01) from CHICAGO, IL
Reviewed on 7/5/2025...

Todd Solondz is not a director to approach lightly. You don't just say "What a beautiful afternoon, I think I'll curl up with a bowl of popcorn and a Todd Solondz film." You need to plan your day around a Todd Solondz viewing - schedule a telehealth session with your therapist before and after, make sure you take whatever mood-stabilizing drugs you can get, and gird your psyche to spend a couple hours with some deeply broken characters.

Solondz hit it big in 1995 with "Welcome to the Dollhouse," which (like my recently-reviewed "Thirteen") is a character study of a 7th-grader in crisis. He followed that up in 1998 with the shocking "Happiness" (which is actually a great film if you can leave your squeamishness at the door) and the surreal "Storytelling" in 2001. The latter two films feature incredible casts and are definitely worth watching.

Solondz's most recent film, 2016's "Wiener-Dog," however, is one of the most useless films I've ever forced myself to sit through. It is near-storyless, plodding, repetitive, pointless, and unengaging.

The film centers around, you guessed it, a cute little wiener dog who gets passed from owner to owner. A sensitive young boy who means well but who, like his angry father, doesn't know how to take care of a dog; a passionate veterinary assistant (Greta Gerwig) who absconds with the dog and travels to Ohio with an old schoolmate of hers (Kieran Culkin) for no reason; the schoolmate's family who apparently all have Down's Syndrome; a has-been filmmaker (Danny DeVito) teaching at a small college; and finally an old woman (Ellen Burstyn) facing her own mortality.

But there is no point to any of the proceedings on-screen. Despite the short 88-minute run time, every scene drags out far too long and with little or no payoff. None of the characters generate any sympathy - even the young boy is far too clueless yet never asks for help in learning how to care for a dog. Characters simply appear in the movie, interact with the dog for a while, then move along. I was reminded of Richard Linklater's 1990 film "Slacker" as the two films share a similar structure - the camera follows one character, who crosses paths with a second character, and the camera follows the second character and we never see the first character again. The difference being the characters in Slacker are so well-written that you understand where they're coming from and where they're going despite their brief time on screen. They were engaging, interesting, and enjoyable (perhaps because they didn't overstay their welcome).

It's been 8 years since the release of Wiener-Dog and although Solondz is apparently in pre-prod on his next film, I wonder what he's been doing since Wiener-Dog and what lessons he took away from that experience. Will his next film be a similar exercise in self-indulgence, or will it be a return to form? Maybe he needs to sit down with Paul Thomas Anderson and have a heartfelt discussion about "where did we go wrong?"

Grade: D-minus

Rita M. (ritarene) from SILER CITY, NC
Reviewed on 2/5/2019...

First off-if you are thinking of watching this because you are a dachshund lover, this is NOT the movie for you. Watch "Wiener Dog Nationals" instead.

Spoiler alert--I've very loosely outlined the stories below. Do not read, if you think it will spoil the movie for you.

This movie is comprised of four vignettes and focuses on the very flawed, depressed people and their relationships rather than focusing on the dog. It is a very dark, subdued introspective dramady.

The movie opens with the wiener-dog being adopted by a family with a son who the story implies is in remission from cancer. The parents are very strict, and it is a very strained story where the child feeds the dog granola, and the dog gets very sick. The father takes the dog to be put to sleep, and there is awkward conversation between the mother and son about death.

The assistant at the vet steals the dog (leading us into the second vignette), and she ends up on a road trip with an unsavory man. Along the way, they pick up a Mariachi band. They end up leaving the dog with the man's brother.

After a comical original song during "intermission" the story jumps to a vignette with Danny DeVito as a depressed college professor and screenwriter who can't get seem to get a break with his agent. The students think he's a joke, and he is on the verge of losing his job. He commits an unspeakable travesty with the dog as a pawn.

The last vignette shows an old woman with the dog in her house. Her niece visits with her artist boyfriend and asks for money. There is some obvious foreshadowing in their conversation, and after the niece leaves, the woman sits outside with the dog and dreams of how her life could have been different. When she awakes, she finds the dog missing and ultimately witnesses its demise.

This movie is not for everyone. If you like dialogue-driven, exaggerated cerebral dark ironic comedy, give this a shot. If you like more mainstream films, I'd say pass on this one.

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