Benji - Off the Leash Reviews

Benji: Off the Leash features dozens of close-ups of adorable mutts, guaranteed to make any dog-lover's heart melt. Colby (Nick Whitaker), a clever young boy, rescues a scrappy pup from his cruel father (Chris Kendrick), who breeds purebreds with an eye towards profit but not the animals' well-being. The puppy grows into a scruffy but smart dog who, with the aid of another plucky stray, helps Colby and his mother improve their lives, and the life of a lonely elderly neighbor as well. Along for the ride are two bumbling, slapstick dogcatchers and a wisecracking parrot. Benji: Off the Leash bubbles over with sentimentality that some viewers will find heartening and others will find unbearable. But though the story meanders, the movie is never cynical--writer/director Joe Camp sincerely believes that if people were more like dogs, the world would be a better place. --Bret Fetzer