How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog | | Cast : | Kenneth Branagh, Robin Wright Penn | | Director : | Michael Kalesniko | | Studio : | Fox Home Entertainme | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | January 01, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | September 02, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | April 05, 2005 | | Summary | Funny and Charming Comedy: Kenneth Branagh Is Excellent | Content
 | 'How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog' is exactly a kind of film that some lucky audiences pick up at a rental video store by chance, but whose existence many people still don't know even though Robert Redford is executive producer. Or is it that he is not famous any more?
But flawed as it is, 'How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog' is so witty and charming thanks to the stars Kenneth Branagh and Robin Wright Penn. One merit is that Branagh plays Peter, who is a playwriter for stage, is an Englishman in LA, and is deliciously cynical. No actor is suitable for the role, and he gives one of his best performances on screen. And this playwright is in a slump; for all his fame (of the past years) and confidence, he cannot write good characters and dialogues, especially those of a 10-year-old child in his upcoming play.
And Peter's wife is Melanie played by Robin Wright Penn (in a black wig). She wants a baby, but her husband is not so willing. In between their frustrated relations steps a cute girl Amy (Suzi Hofrichter) who moved into their neighborhood with her mother.
While Amy comes to get closer to Melanie and Peter, they also come to know the little girl. There are many eccentric characters (this film is partly about the stage); Jonathan Scharch as stage actor in Peter's play, Jared Harris as 'false' Peter, and Lynn Redgrave as Peter's mother-in-law who keeps forgetting that she is Peter's mother-in-law. And look for uncredited cameo of Daniel Stern at party scene.
The story itself is nothing exceptional. It is the round characters that are exceptional in 'How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog' and the gifted actors playing them effectively. The acting is unanimously great, and when those interesting and real characters deliver the funny lines by Kenneth Branagh and Robin Wright Penn, the film becomes a little gem. One scene in which Peter understands 'how a Muppet feels' made me laugh.
Perhaps you haven't seen it, and that's not a big surprise. I'm writng from Japan, but it took about five years for us to see it. And we have seen it in theaters, and think it's good. So how come its US debut was on cable TV? |
| Rating | | | Date | June 29, 2004 | | Summary | Brilliant, Superb, What a genius. A real nice Comedy | Content
| This movie is just great at all levels: story, humour, actors. They are all just great. I can't understand why the press shut it down so hardly while it is a precious stone. This movie is so under-rated. Just watch it, you won't be disappointed. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 19, 2004 | | Summary | Brilliant Flick!! | Content
| Kenneth Branagh is a theatrical great as far as I am concerned. I have never been let down with any of his films I have seen. How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog is definitely a worthwhile must see. It's is definitely good film! As well as his "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Dead Again" **-- Tamu Ngina |
| Rating | | | Date | October 23, 2003 | | Summary | Great Branagh! | Content
| I happened to catch this movie on TV one night and, being a Kenneth Branagh fan, I watched it and was thrilled. Kenneth plays the part perfectly and it is laugh-out-loud funny sometimes and heartbreaking in others. Highly recommended. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 13, 2003 | | Summary | Incredibly well written | Content
| This is one of the most intelligently written movies i've seen in quite some time. It is about, appropriately, a writer struggling to be a writer and a regular person. The segue scenes of a local morning talk show interview are wickedly funny and Kenneth Branagh is, as ever, completely credible in his role as a struggling writer, troubled by a dog, a doppelganger, and ovulation. |
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