Wiener-Dog

Name: Wiener-Dog
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: June 24, 2016
Duration: 88 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Greta Gerwig

2016

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Ratings

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5.8

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5.8	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 39 Ratings

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Wiener-Dog

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: June 24, 2016 | R

Starring: Greta Gerwig

Summary: Wiener-Dog is a dark, starkly funny story of a single dog and the many different people she touches over her short lifetime. Man’s best friend starts out teaching a young boy some contorted life lessons before being taken in by a compassionate vet tech named Dawn Wiener. Dawn reunites with someone from her past and sets off on a road trip.Wiener-Dog is a dark, starkly funny story of a single dog and the many different people she touches over her short lifetime. Man’s best friend starts out teaching a young boy some contorted life lessons before being taken in by a compassionate vet tech named Dawn Wiener. Dawn reunites with someone from her past and sets off on a road trip. After leaving Dawn, Wiener-Dog encounters a floundering film professor, as well as an embittered elderly woman and her needy granddaughter—all longing for something more.… Expand

Director: Todd Solondz

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 88 min

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Critic Reviews

IndieWire Eric Kohn

Jan 31, 2016

Bizarre and challenging when it's not outright goofy, Wiener-Dog never feels remotely compromised. Somehow hilarious and gloomy at the same time, it represents a big middle finger to anyone who wishes Solondz would lighten up. Read full review

Dave White

Jul 17, 2016

An atheist’s inverse Balthazar, Wiener-Dog witnesses and experiences suffering but cannot transform that pain into anything substantive, nor can she redeem those around her. Read full review

David Edelstein

Jun 24, 2016

I loved it, but you might not. Despite its often prostrating bleakness and an ending likely to inspire howls of outrage (Solondz’s world is not kind to children or pets), it might be the closest he’ll ever come to making an inspirational work. Read full review

Guy Lodge

Feb 1, 2016

This elegantly wrought oddity appears at the halfway mark to be heading into uncharacteristically hopeful territory for Solondz — until a toe-tapping intermission marks a reassuring plunge into abject despair. Read full review

The Playlist Noel Murray

Feb 1, 2016

What saves the movie is Solondz’s sensibility, which is still one-of-a-kind. Read full review

Empire Olly Richards

Aug 1, 2016

This is a gentler, less confrontational Solondz. It makes you laugh, but probably won’t leave you reeling after. Some fans of his might consider that a disappointment, others might find it a relief. Read full review

Chris Nashawaty

Jun 23, 2016

In Wiener-Dog, Solondz just keeps telling the same dark joke over and over again—and it just keeps getting less and less funny. It’s a dog. Read full review

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User Reviews

hayceelynt_2

Sep 7, 2016

It's fair to say that Todd Solondz movies are not for everyone. Wiener Dog is Solondz 'lite' compared to his other more misanthropic films however, and there are even moments of tenderness in the four stories that make up the whole. It's still no picnic though and the ending will certainlyIt's fair to say that Todd Solondz movies are not for everyone. Wiener Dog is Solondz 'lite' compared to his other more misanthropic films however, and there are even moments of tenderness in the four stories that make up the whole. It's still no picnic though and the ending will certainly divide audiences.… Expand

10 of 10 users found this helpful100

nonservium

Jun 30, 2016

hi brow and low brow at the same time. imagine the worst things to be watching all the while laughing your ass off. maybe his best work. it's a must see.

9 of 12 users found this helpful93

antmolly1995

Sep 8, 2016

This is one of those films you will either love or loath. I don't think there's any room for fence sitters. Personally, I find Solondz's worldview intriguing if very unsettling and his movie characters are always memorable if not particularly likable.

10 of 10 users found this helpful100

bobmeier

Aug 8, 2016

I haven't seen this..don't know if I will. BUT at least it doesn't have Jesse Eisenberg or Paul Dano in it. I think that's the new Hollywood rule: it must have either Eisenberg or Dano.

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

LeZee

Sep 29, 2016

A dog's lifetime journey with the different owners.

I am an animal lover, but there's nothing bad I found on it. It was just a film and they did not even harm the dogs that used for, but those, particularly final scene was a graphic. Anyway, one thing is for sure that this is not forA dog's lifetime journey with the different owners.

I am an animal lover, but there's nothing bad I found on it. It was just a film and they did not even harm the dogs that used for, but those, particularly final scene was a graphic. Anyway, one thing is for sure that this is not for softhearted people. Because some of the contents were unpleasant to watch, but in the real world these things happen everyday, everywhere and nobody doing nothing to stop that. So you can't just blame this film for that to portraying the facts. In a recent film, someone was attacked by a bear and later it was killed, but this is not that kind of bad impression giving film for the animal lovers.

I haven't seen the 'Welcome to the Dollhouse', but it is a spin-off of that. Written and directed by a same filmmaker. A comedy drama with multiple layers, but all of them follows a single dog, the journey what a dog makes in his lifetime like with the different owners how its fate hangs. So you aren't going to enjoy all the tale, I particularly liked first one and so do the many others. The second half was not up to its counterpart. It started off well and if it had ended the same way, it would have been considered a good one. But it lost the track during the middle, so now it is an average, maybe just below that.

Don't think it is a dog film like those you loved. The dog is the part of the film, but its contributions were rare. It is just a film and enjoy it as one, other than that it is useless to complain on the depiction. It is R rated, and that tells it might not suitable for families. But it carried a very good message on how the dogs were treated in the different classes, in the different society of people and family. For that alone, it is worth a watch, but still lacks appealness. So I won't suggest it, but it is not bad either like many people claiming. All I would say is choose it carefully, don't believe what some were whining about.

5/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Jul 11, 2016

Let me start by saying we're going on our 2nd doxie and this film captures NONE of the charm or personality of the breed (the one in the movie was over-trained and practically comatose). By the same token, this dark comedy is only dark. There are NO funny moments (with the possible exceptionLet me start by saying we're going on our 2nd doxie and this film captures NONE of the charm or personality of the breed (the one in the movie was over-trained and practically comatose). By the same token, this dark comedy is only dark. There are NO funny moments (with the possible exception of a musical "intermission"). The narrative follows the unhappy lives of 4 people, including Danny DeVito & Ellen Burstyn. Only the 1st story even features the dog …in the other 3, it's just an ornament. Director Todd Solondz nailed this type of somewhat sick humor in "Happiness," but this time, the plights of the people aren't interesting and the writing is flat. The final scene of the dog getting run over is especially disturbing and not necessary.… Expand

3 of 13 users found this helpful310

PeterKalnin

Sep 23, 2016

I suppose this film might be enjoyable for some people, but for the life of me I can't see anything endearing in it. It is dark and depressing, but perhaps funny for those who like to witness the sufferings of others. I can't recommend it to anyone... especially for dog lovers. SpareI suppose this film might be enjoyable for some people, but for the life of me I can't see anything endearing in it. It is dark and depressing, but perhaps funny for those who like to witness the sufferings of others. I can't recommend it to anyone... especially for dog lovers. Spare yourself the loss of your time.… Expand

0 of 11 users found this helpful011

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