Old Dogs is a Disney family comedy staring Robin Williams and John Travolta as Dan and Charlie, respectively. Dan and Charlie are two co-workers who are best friends. In the year 2002, Dan met a woman named Vicki (Kelly Preston) and they were briefly married, but fast-forward to 2009 and Vicki shows up again to show Dan that they had two 7-year-old kids. Vicki is being sent to jail for chaining herself to a gate during a protest, leaving Dan to take care of the kids. He enlists the help of Charlie, but after unwittingly making a deal with Nishimura Corp. (the Japanese company they work for) that could get him promoted, he must make the decision to move to Tokyo or stay with the kids.
Seth Green also plays Ralph, a younger colleague of Charlie and Dan.
I'm sure you already know how it's going to end... but on the other hand, you probably don't exactly know how it's going to end, so I'll keep it secret. (All I'll say is you saw some of it in the trailer, but I won't say what part.) Anyway, the first part of the film practically has no plot and just seems like a flimsy excuse for a series of slapstick events to occur, but that doesn't mean it isn't funny. Seeing the poor reviews for this film as well as the fact that it failed to make it into the top 3 (which were older releases The Twilight Saga: New Moon, The Blind Side, and 2012) made me a little skeptical about it, but I enjoyed the film, if only because I don't think I've seen John Travolta or Robin Williams in a live-action comedy film in while (I know Robin Williams was in World's Greatest Dad but that didn't come to our area) where they weren't overdressed (so Robin Williams as Theodore Roosevelt in the Night at the Museum films and John Travolta as a woman in Hairspray don't count). I also was aware that this is Bernie Mac's actual final film (even though Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Soul Men from 2008 were advertised as such), but was disappointed when he didn't have a very large role, as well as lack of a tribute for him (it just says, "In Loving Memory of Bernie Mac and Jett Travolta" during the credits, whereas Soul Men had a picture of him that said goodbye to him on the final frame after the credits).
The film got a PG rating, and the most objectionable thing was entirely off-screen and not mentioned: Dan and Vicki had drunk sex during their vacation and had kids. Two workers (one played by Luis Guzman) mix up Charlie and Dan's pills, causing them (especially Dan) to be mixed up (and later everyone). Vicki wears a cleavage tops in a few scenes in the first half of the film, and Dan is seen in his underwear in the shower. Dan later struggles to answer his kids' question "Where do babies come from?". Charlie, Dan, and Ralph sneak into a zoo, and a gorilla tosses a tire at Charlie, knocking him out. The gorilla grabs Ralph and won't let him go, but Charlie and Dan run off into the penguin area, where the penguins attack them. Dan also kicks a ball at a child, which hits him in the face.
Well, if you just want to see a string of slapstick events, this is the film for you. Stay tuned during the closing credits for a funny little scene.
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