This is what I call a gimmick movie. Ideally, the gimmick
movie should a) follow the logic of the gimmick and b) exploit the gimmick to
its fullest. (Shallow Hal fails the first test, for example, because Hal
inexplicably only sees some people’s inner beauty.) The gimmick here,
borrowed from its 1959 namesake, is that Tim Allen sometimes turns into a
sheepdog. The actual plot more resembles The Shaggy D.A., the 1976
sequel. In those movies, a magic ring causes the ado; the script here (credited
to five writers) tries to relate it to DNA. Yet this only highlights that
Allen’s transformations don’t have much logic, thus failing the first test.
(It’s either sloppiness or a sequel setup that at the end, he’s still, as far
as I could tell, not cured.) Kids probably won’t notice this, but Shaggy Dog
only gets about a “C+” on the other test. Too much plot time is tied up
with the evil doings of the DNA scientists, including Robert Downey Jr., playing a
witness in the case Allen is trying. Apparently there’s also a rule that if you
remake an old family film (see also Yours, Mine, and Ours and Cheaper
by the Dozen) you have to add in a subplot about Dad’s work interfering
with his home life. Can someone declare this plot officially tired? On the
other hand, I think Tim Allen’s starting to grow on me. Unlike with Steve
Martin, I never feel like he should be doing something better.
posted 9/9/13
