'Off the Leash' a slightly different breed of Benji film

Friday, August 20, 2004

By JANE HORWITZ
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Kids with a soft spot for cute canines will enjoy "Benji: Off the Leash!," a rambling boy-and-his-dog tale that mixes doggie high jinks and human slapstick with more serious themes.

MOVIE REVIEW

BENJI: OFF THE LEASH!

CAST: Nick Whitaker, Chris Kendrick

RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes

RATED: PG for thematic elements and some mild language

WHERE: Bella Bottega, Cinema 17, Marysville Cinema, Meridian, Renton Village, South Hill Mall

GRADE: C-

Love of dogs is key, because the amateurish acting, writing and production values in this independently made film feel more like the stuff of home movies than Hollywood.

Most previous "Benji" films have been rated G ("Benji," 1974, "For the Love of Benji," 1977, "Benji the Hunted," 1987 -- only 1980's "Oh, Heavenly Dog!" was a PG), but "Off the Leash" earns its PG for dealing with the idea of parental abuse, which means it's most suitable for kids 8 and older. Many kids under that age might enjoy it, but parents may want to check it out first.

The film features a verbally abusive father (or stepfather -- it's unclear) who threatens to hit the boy hero and his mom (later we see her bruises). He throws a puppy across a room, though it's not hurt, and mistreats a sick dog. Comical dogcatchers mess with a tranquilizer gun.

Writer/director Joe Camp has set "Off the Leash" in Mississippi. Fourteen-year-old Colby (Nick Whitaker) helps his surly father (Chris Kendrick) run a puppy mill. He saves a pup about to be killed because it doesn't look like a purebred, and raises it in a secret hideaway in the woods where he escapes his unhappy home.

The pup grows into a clever dog who, in league with another rascally stray, schemes to rescue his ailing mama, Daisy, from the puppy mill. Their antics give the animal control guys (Randall Newsome, Duane Stephens) fits. All is eventually set right.

Jane Horwitz reviews films for the Parents' Film Guide distributed by the Washington Post Writers Group.