 Turner and Hooch (1989)
"Turner and Hooch" is just what a formulaic human and dog movie demands. Guy meets dog. Dog drools all over everything. Guy hates dog. Dog teaches guy about how to make life fun. Guy loves dog. Dog still drools. Tom Hanks plays police officer Scott Turner, whose life and personality resemble an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Turner begins a murder investigation and meets the real star of the movie Hooch! Hooch is played by a French Mastiff named Beasley. Hanks screams at "Hooch" a lot in this movie. His anger would have been better focused on his agent that thought that this film was a good idea.
Beasley does what all French Mastiffs were made to do. He's sweet, good natured, and is good at drooling disgustingly all over his costars. Sadly, "Turner and Hooch" falls flat. The film has trouble deciding whether or not to take itself seriously. It tries to be a comedic buddy film and a hard nosed murder mystery. It fails at both attempts. The plot moves slowly along, and never really gains momentum. The romance between Hanks and a vet (played by Mare Winningham), comes off as slightly uncomfortable instead of romantic. The ending is both shocking and confusing since it doesn't fit with the overall attitude of the film. Hanks is reported to have ad libbed a lot of the dialog in "Turner and Hooch," but no amount of yelling at "Hooch" could have saved this film. You deserve better than this Beasley. This movie is Rated a Howl!
Tadashi Rubright
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