When I watch A Dog's Life, I'm constantly reminded of The Kid. Chaplin's inner city seems to me a coherent universe between those two films. A seminal Tramp film, he just can't catch a break even though he wants to find work and love, he's no slacker. His life is juxtaposed with a stray dog's, and eventually the two become companions. Good dog acting too. My nerd glands were activated by the dance hall being called the Green Lantern, and of course that's where Charlie's going to meet a girl that's in her way just as down on her luck as he is, if perhaps not pursued by policemen quite as often. This element is rather adult in its implications, but continues the theme of a "dog's life". And for dog lovers out there who think the expression shouldn't be negative, well it isn't entirely. A sweet ending reminds us that every dog will have his day (wait, is that one negative too? If it is, reverse it. There's good in the world too, is what I'm saying).
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Siskoid
When I watch A Dog's Life, I'm constantly reminded of The Kid. Chaplin's inner city seems to me a coherent universe between those two films. A seminal Tramp film, he just can't catch a break even though he wants to find work and love, he's no slacker. His life is juxtaposed with a stray dog's, and eventually the two become companions. Good dog acting too. My nerd glands were activated by the dance hall being called the Green Lantern, and of course that's where Charlie's going to meet a girl that's in her way just as down on her luck as he is, if perhaps not pursued by policemen quite as often. This element is rather adult in its implications, but continues the theme of a "dog's life". And for dog lovers out there who think the expression shouldn't be negative, well it isn't entirely. A sweet ending reminds us that every dog will have his day (wait, is that one negative too? If it is, reverse it. There's good in the world too, is what I'm saying).