Movie Notes: A Boy And His Dog

September 22nd, 2006

A Boy And His Dog

= 3 stars

Starring Don Johnson, Susanne Benton, Jason Robards
Directed by L.Q. Jones

Amazon link

Movies Here’s the insane summary: Teenage Vic (Don Johnson… yes, that Don Johnson) and his telepathic dog wander the wasteland following a nuclear World War IV, looking for food and adventure. It only gets stranger after that; I’ll just say there’s a marching band in face paint and a machine attached to someone’s crotch.

This film is another 70s dystopia, in the vein of Logan’s Run and Soylent Green. The depressing environment is framed well, which keeps things interesting. Once you get over the unbelievable premise of a psychic, talking dog, the first half of the film is more reminiscent of a western with Vic as the lone cowboy and the dog as his trusty sidekick.

Eventually Vic meets a girl, and the usual seventies chick-sploitation pops up (cheesy lighting, nudity, before you know it, they’re on a mattress). The film then takes a turn into the bizarre as Vic enters a bomb shelter housing a society that has survived the nuclear war. The transition to this post-apocalyptic society is exhilaratingly jarring.

Things get progressively worse for Vic, the girl, and the dog, resulting in a strange situation where… let’s just say everyone remains in character in the hell hole that is post World War IV. There is no contrived happy ending here, which is refreshing, if a bit darkly humorous, and frankly, sick. But it makes sense and I give the film credit for sticking with the original premise, albeit a ridiculous one.

IMDB: A Boy And His Dog
Wikipedia: A Boy And His Dog
Rotten Tomatoes: A Boy And His Dog 77%