Snow Dogs Review
by Laura Clifford (laura AT reelingreviews DOT com)January 17th, 2002
SNOW DOGS
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Dr. Ted Brooks (Cuba Gooding, Jr., "Pearl Harbor") has a hugely successful Miami dentist practice where his mom (Nichelle Nichols, TV's "Star Trek") keeps his deceased dad's 'personal touch' alive by dispensing her homemade sugar cookies in the waiting room. When Ted is served a summons for an inheritance from a woman named Lucy in Tolketna, Alaska, mom's forced to finally tell him he was adopted. The Miami native travels Northwest with intentions of squaring away his inheritance, but he's intrigued by stories of his mushing mom and challenged by his dad's disdain in "Snow Dogs."
Director Brian Levant ("The Flintstones in Viva Las Vegas," "Jingle All The Way") delivers yet another groan rather than laugh-inducing comedy with "Snow Dogs." Allowing his actors to mug maniacally for the camera, Levant's direction kills any comedy that might have been wrung from this tired material.
Suggested by the serious dog-sledding novel "Winterdance," screenwriters Michael Goldberg & Tommy Swerdlow ("Cool Runnings"), Philip Halprin & Mark Gibson ("The In Crowd") and Jim Kouf ("Rush Hour") have come up with the type of broad, fish out of water comedy where each crossed signal is telegraphed a mile away and the lead character falls down a lot.
Ted meets the entire town when his mother's will is read in Tolketna's watering hole, owned and operated by the feisty Barb (Joanna Bacalso, "Bedazzled"). First lawyer and bush pilot George (M. Emmet Walsh, "Blood Simple") announces Lucy's sprung for a round of Wild Turkey for everyone, then Peter Yellowbear (Graham Greene, "Lost and Delirious")
gets a golfing putter and an insult. Barb gets a shearling coat (that looks fresh off the rack). Thunder Jack (James Coburn, "Affliction") gets her outhouse and all its contents. Ted gets the rest. Barb walks Ted out to her log cabin and barn and leaves him. No one in the entire town thinks to mention her pet Border Collie Nana or her Siberian Husky sledding team of Demon, Mack, Diesel, Duchess, Scooper, Yodel and Sniff.
Thunder Jack wants the dogs but tries to cheat Ted. Ted tries to leave, but is told his real father's name by Barb, who for some reason not shown here has fallen for Ted, as a delaying tactic. Next thing we know, the dog-hating Ted is training for the upcoming Arctic Challenge.
Cuba Gooding Jr. has yet to come even close to his Oscar winning performance in "Jerry Maguire." After "Snow Dogs," he should voluntarily give back his trophy. Coburn glides by on his gruff facade while relative newcomer Bacalso looks pretty and acts capable as the unmotivated love interest. Greene, Doyle-Murray and Walsh don't embarrass themselves, but rapper Sisqo, as one of Ted's Miami dentists should stick to his day job. Nichelle Nichols appears lost when not in space.
Kudos to the animal trainers and animatronics experts who made replicas of the real things, but if you want to catch a good dog-sledding flick, rent the animated "Balto" instead.
D
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