This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If good intentions made for good movies, the indie family comedy "Rescue Dogs" would be a stellar experience, rather than a painful one.
The story centers on Tracy (Paul Haapaniemi), the hunky cook at his late grandfather's beachside breakfast shack, trying to keep the business afloat while a shady banker (Andrew Ryan Hardy) makes dire threats on behalf of an unseen boss (Casey Campbell) with plans for a golf course. Tracy also has a crush on Bridgette (Courtney Daniels), whom he meets at her dance class when he's mistaken for a polished tango instructor.
All of this is seen through the eyes of Tracy's dog Charger — who, in a voiceover by actor Peter Oldring, comments on every moment, as do the movie's many other animal characters. (The movie's narrators are a pair of sandpipers.)
Directors M.J. Anderson and Haik Katsikian can't do much to polish an idiotic script, by writer Jordan Rawlins (who also plays Tracy's wacky brother, Harlan), that relies too much on slapstick, silly contrivances and, when all else fails, fart jokes.
The movie nobly ties itself to the cause of adopting shelter animals and has partnered with rescue centers around the nation (including Salt Lake City's Rescue Rovers), but one wishes someone had rescued this woeful production before it totally went to the dogs.
'Rescue Dogs'
Opening Friday, April 1, at the Megaplex 20 at The District (South Jordan); rated PG for some rude humor; 84 minutes.