Set in Los Angeles, Dog Days follows an ensemble cast of dog owners and the impact that their four-legged companions have on these people’s lives who are trying to deal with the day-to-day hectic trials and tribulations that come with being a human. Once the lives of these people start to intertwine due to the direct actions of their dogs, it becomes easy to see why canines are known as man’s best friend.

Ken Marino follows up last year’s How to Be a Latin Lover (2017) with the hopes that he’ll see a little sophomore success. Assisting in effort are an assortment of talented actors including Nina Dobrev, Vanessa Hudgens, Eva Longoria, Finn Wolfhard, Adam Pally, Rob Corddry, Tone Bell, Jon Bass, Michael Cassidy, Thomas Lennon, Tig Notaro and Ron Cephas. Time to let this one off its leash and find out just how enjoyable Dog Days will be.

There are just so many characters being thrown at you that it’s hard to judge them. The plot is interesting at times, silly at others. There’s laughter, sadness, joy and pain. There are a roller coaster of emotions for audiences to experience. Each of the dogs had their own little personalities and they are a pleasure to watch. As for the actors, no one really stands out head and shoulders over anyone else but conversely, none of the actors turned in poor performances. Everything was just middle of the road, but not in a terrible way.

There are two pretty significant problems with Dog Days that cuteness cannot overcome. Firstly, there are way too many subplots going on to become fully vested in emotionally. Different people will naturally relate to different aspects of the story, leaving quite a bit of uninspiring tidbits on the table. Because of this, viewers interests will most likely wane. And this brings me the second issue. The running time is too long for marketability purposes. 112 minutes is just too long for this type of movie. And if you’re hoping to attract families with small children, forget about it. Boredom is going to set in pretty quickly and the restlessness will become evident. Even though it’s rated PG, interest levels will be higher in those over the age of ten.

Dog Days is a cute movie but just not cute enough to give a strong recommendation to. This is a great movie to watch at home when you can divert your focus slightly on other more interesting things. Ken Marino needs to do slightly better job of editing so that his movies flow more freely. But as pet owners, there will be so much you’ll be able to relate to which should assist in enjoying this one more than you should. You can catch this on in theaters now.