Welcome to my first-ever official ‘review post’. And to kick it off, I am reviewing the brand new movie, Wiener Dog Nationals.
Most of the time I’m the one in the movie, but in this blog post, I’m the critic (but it will still be mainly about me).
Synopsis
Wiener Dog Nationals is about a small family with a single father. The young boy in the family (who has an awesome curly afro) adopts a little female dachshund named Shelly from a shelter as inspired by his since-deceased mother who used to race dachshunds as a child. The boy then enters Shelly in a local race (at first without the father knowing), and soon they work their way up to the nationals while battling the two-time reigning champion. This previous champion’s owner is quite devious in her ways and is out to prevent Shelly from winning at all costs. If you have not seen the movie yet, watch the trailer here.
The Viewing Experience
Firstly, before we even popped in the movie to watch it, Mum insisted that I put on my helmet. She knows how excited I get during my wiener dog races, so thought it best I wear a helmet in case I get too rowdy.
She should have also given me a jockstrap to wear, because oh boy – Shelly was one sexy lady wiener! The fact that she was lightening fast made her that much more attractive.
And get this! Shelly, whose real name is Gracie, is a longtime fan of mine on Facebook. So I know how to get in contact with her if I ever want a date ; )
Although I’m not sure how my ego would feel about me dating someone more famous than myself.
Anyway, having a cutie like that definitely helped the viewer experience.
But the truly exciting parts for me were watching the actual races. I am a (local) champion myself, so can relate well to the high-energy atmosphere of a wiener dog race. In fact, I got so excited rooting for Shelly, that I was barking and shuffling my paws whenever the dogs came out of the starter block!
I guess Mum was right to make me wear a helmet! If a movie gets you this engaged, it usually means it’s good!
My Take On It All
Wiener Dog Nationals is one of those TV movies, so it’s best you expect that from the start. It’s a very light-hearted and whimsical family feature. If you have a wiener dog, race wiener dogs, or are a wiener dog, I’m sure you’ll like it. Because I did, and I’m a wiener dog. My inkling would be that it might not be quite so easily consumed by someone who has no real attachment or interest in dachshunds.
However, for as light-hearted as it was, I found most of the (human) characters and their acting, not so bad. I wasn’t crazy about the father’s character, but the little afro kid, the loud little girl, and the older teenage brother made for an interesting trio. My favorite human was definitely the funny Judge Brown, as played by Bryan Batt, the same actor who plays the gay Sal Romano in Mad Men. He was the most entertaining to watch.
The best acting of them all though was definitely by Gracie and all the other wiener dogs. My only complaint was that we didn’t see enough of them! Here is a picture of all the dachshund actors walking down the the red (green for dogs) carpet at the movie premiere night!
And here’s Gracie herself.
They are all quite the cuties!
The story itself was fine, and what you’d expect for this type of production, so no warranted complaints there. The only thing that really threw me off in the movie if I could provide one criticism, was a ‘goof’ that happened when Shelly injures her leg. She hurts her front-right paw in a little practice race, and the next day she has a little cast on her back-right leg.
But then again, Shelly pulled it off brilliantly. She was quite the star, and I especially liked her little tea part dress-up scene.
The Long & Short of It All
Overall, I’d give this movie 4 stars on the ‘family-approved’ scale. It was fun, made me smile, and had some pretty cute wiener dogs in it. I’d recommend it to all wiener dog fans!
And I’ll be seeing Shelly – er, Gracie, on Facebook ; )
But for now, I’m not sure I’m quite ready to give up my Oscar.
Speaking of awards, I’ve recently been nominated for Best Active Living Pet Blog at the Petties! This is pretty cool, as I am quite an active little guy. I am an intrepid expedition leader, a world traveler, an avid kayaker, fisherman, and Captain, and am always working on maintaining my muscular figure.
Please vote for ‘Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund’ as Best Active Living Blog here (bottom right of page)!
You can vote once per day, so I’d suggest you bookmark it ; )
Thanks so much to everyone in advance!
Hope you enjoy the movie! Please watch it responsibly.
Keep winnin’,
~ Crusoe
Stay tuned for my next blog post! I imagine it will be highly unexpected! ; )
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