Year of the Dog
Paramount Vantage | Release Date: April 13, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
70
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
I mean no impertinence when I say that as a portrait of love and grief, writer-director Mike White's exceptional film Year of the Dog deserves the same admiration accorded Joan Didion's exceptional memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking." Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
White's gently perceptive film is a funny, poignant, emotionally honest minor-key character study. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleToddy Burton
Dern is hilarious as the obsessive sister-in-law, Sarsgaard plays oddball dog-man to perfection, Pais is perfectly awkward as Peggy's nervous boss, Reilly rocks the subtle humor of Peggy's hunting-obsessed neighbor, and Shannon gives a breakout performance. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It may sound as if first-time director White is having his fun at the expense of introverted, asocial people who prefer the company of cats and dogs and gravitate toward animal-rights activism because the very idea of dealing with human problems requires an empathy they can't muster. But empathy is exactly what makes the film work. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Until Year of the Dog, I've never seen a movie where someone obsessed over a puppy. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The conceit of the movie is that everyone is obsessed by something and never really tunes into anybody else. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia Puig
An engaging tragicomedy, exploring the consequences of single-minded fervor in a humorous and humane fashion. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Shannon is wonderful as a woman pushed over the edge by the death of her pet in Year of the Dog, a very low-key, well-acted dramedy. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
While some may be put off by Peggy's wild-eyed mania, and the film's broadly comic tone, Shannon makes this lost spirit strikingly sympathetic. Read full review
75
PremiereEthan Alter
Year of the Dog would have benefited from a stronger hand behind the camera (White's general aesthetic basically involves cribbing heavily from Wes Anderson and Jared Hess), but as a showcase for Shannon, it ends up being strangely moving. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
In Year of the Dog, there are dark moments that are both strangely poignant and bizarrely hilarious. The ending took me by surprise. In a way it's a cheat, a redemption that arrives out of nowhere. But it's also a cosmic joke, a perfectly funny, sincere salute to dog and pet-lovers everywhere. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
One of those quirky little movies that you marvel ever got made. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
A rough little comedy of tone. White, making his directorial debut, asks if the search for self is still heroic when the discoveries are unpleasant. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
Year of the Dog is an enjoyable, patchy, rambling affair, a series of bittersweet comic sketches strung together with thin wire. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDuane Byrge
Overall, Year of the Dog evinces an appealing sentimentality without being maudlin or only puppy-dog cute. Read full review
70
VarietyJohn Anderson
A satisfying and funny, if ironic, comedy intended for lovers of both the beast and/or sophisticated laughs. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
So oppressive is Peggy's world -- Year of the Dog is the best evocation I've seen of how much worse it is to be depressed in a sunny climate -- that when she finally loses control, it feels more like catharsis than madness. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
It's funny ha-ha but firmly in touch with its downer side, which means it's also funny in a kind of existential way. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
With pathos competing equally against the often pungent laughs for the audience's attention, it's a movie that is both unsettling and amusing, most comparable to "Chuck & Buck" in tone. Read full review
70
SlateDana Stevens
It's the most thorough portrait yet of the world according to White. Read full review
70
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
White delivers another weirdly dark-but-funny story. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Despite the gimmicky direction and a disappointing climax, this is a distinctive and unsettling comedy. Read full review
67
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
White throws in a dog-in-peril shot to ensure the audience's sympathies. The ploy works, perhaps too well, turning Year of the Dog less into the askew character study it wants to be than a showcase of lovable-dog shots. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The ironic, cheery-bland tone, the two-dimensional characters and episodic structure, say "comedy," while the events in the script say "bipolar depression." Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Shannon gives the movie its inner life. Maybe the movie will give her back her comedy career. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Shannon is flawless. Read full review
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