Jack the Dog

Jack the Dog is a 2001 American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Bobby Roth and starring Néstor Carbonell, Barbara Williams, Barry Newman, and Anthony LaPaglia. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2001, and was released on DVD in the United States by Rivercoast Films on August 12, 2008. A sequel, Manhood, was released in 2003.

Plot

Serial womanizer Jack settles down with Faith, but when the marriage falls apart due to Jack's desire for women, he has to share custody of their son, Sam. Living with Sam makes Jack slowly change his thinking and way of life.

Cast

Néstor Carbonell as Jack The Dog
Barbara Williams as Faith
Andrew J. Ferchland as Sam
Barry Newman as Simon
Anthony LaPaglia as Jack's Attorney
Travis Fine as Buddy
Peter Coyote as Alfred Stieglitz
Thomas Gibson as Faith's Attorney
Jürgen Prochnow as Klaus
Lauren Tom as Angel
Navi Rawat as Ruby
Grey DeLisle as Estella
Gia Carides as Georgia
Gabe Kaplan as Richie
Tracey Walter as The Mortician

Release

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2001. Rivercoast Films distributed the film through home media in the United States on August 12, 2008.

Reception

Jack the Dog received a mixed to negative response from film critics, and gained an indifferent reception during its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "Tale, which lurches along with little sense of pacing or time elapsed, has plenty of niggling problems," and added: "Performances, from the handsome Carbonell to those of Williams as the rhinoceros-hided wife and the many actresses in for literally quickies, are energetic but no more illuminating than the dialogue as to the inner life of their characters." DVD Talk rated the film 3 of 5 stars, saying "I think the parts between Sam and Jack were very well acted and this comprised the biggest part of the movie so I leaned towards upping the rating but I'll leave it where it is."