Movie Review: 'Strays'

Strays (2023)

Directed by Josh Greenbaum

Written by Dan Perrault

Starring Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Will Forte

Release Date August 18th, 2023

Published August 21st, 2023

Strays Stinks! Reaching the nadir of talking animal movies, Strays pees, poops, and generally grosses out in every possible way while begging us to find it cute. Featuring the voices of Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx, Strays is a cruel, nasty, disgusting little movie that also happens to be an amateur effort in terms of production and direction on top of the lame gross out humor. I felt a sense of embarrassment while watching Strays, an embarrassment on behalf of the people who filmed this and assumed that what they were doing was worth doing.

Will Ferrell provides the voice of Reggie a badly abused dog that doesn't realize it is being abused. Reggie's owner is a cruel bully that the movie seems to think is a clever takedown of redneck, man-boy stereotypes. Doug (Will Forte) is instead, a monstrous, nasty creation who says and does terribly cruel things that we're asked to laugh at. It's supposed to be funny that Reggie thinks his name is S###bag. It's supposed to be funny that Doug hates this dog that much.

It's also supposed to be hysterical that Reggie thinks Doug is playing a game with him when Doug drives Reggie into the country, throws a tennis ball and leaves Reggie to find his way back home. The plot of Strays kicks in when an angry Doug drives Reggie more than 3 hours away and drops him in the middle of a mid-sized city. Reggie has no idea where he is and is immediately set upon by bullies. Thankfully, he's saved by Bug (Jamie Foxx) who, though even smaller than Reggie, is more resourceful.

The two become fast friends and Bug introduces Reggie to two more friends. At a dog park we meet Maggie (Isla Fisher) and Hunter (Randall Park). Hunter's traits include wearing a cone everywhere and having a large penis. The dogs penis is mentioned many times and is used for at least one extended tasteless gag. And that should tell you pretty much all you need to know but I want to warn you, it gets so much uglier. Strays features some of the most extensive use of urine and feces in any movie.

I don't find Strays particularly offensive, just childish, amateurish and insulting. The movie is just gross. Gross can be funny under the right circumstances but these aren't great circumstances. The direction of Strays is so simpleminded, so base level, I was shocked that a major studio and movie stars took part in this. The direction looks as if anyone off the street could have made this movie. I've seen TikTok videos with funnier talking dog characters and better production value than Strays.

I didn't laugh one single time during Strays. I wasn't miserable but mostly I just didn't care. The movie is so slapdash and unprofessional that what most bothered me was having my time wasted. I could have been doing anything else, getting a root canal, going for a walk, calling my sister, anything would have been more engaging than anything in Strays. I could have searched for funny dog videos on TikTok and found more entertaining and engaging content than anything in Strays. In fact, I urge you to skip Strays and just search funny animals on TikTok. It will save you 90 minutes of gross and deliver way more smiles and laughter.

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