I spotted this family film and I assumed it was made by Disney, it isn't, but I guess I was going to watch it and still give it a chance, as there have been the occasional dog hero films that have proved worth watching for me. Basically Rexxx the Dog (Arwen, Frodo, Rohan and Stryder) is Hollywood's top canine talent with a string of hit movies, stunt dog credentials and a line of cool doggy products, and naturally he is treated like a star diva. When lightning strikes the plane carrying him to another location, and landing in a truck of tomatoes, Rexxx winds up stranded and taken by a dogcatcher, and after getting out of this he is found by Shane Fahey (Zathura: A Space Adventure's Josh Hutcherson). At first the young boy is not all that interested in looking after a dog that is a little annoying and troublesome, but his father Connor (Bruce Greenwood) encourages him to look after the dog, wearing a tag with the name Dewey, this is what they call him. As time goes by Shane does find better friendship with "Dewey", especially as he has great agility, bravery and characteristics that make him unlike your regular dog. This bravery especially shows as a number of fires have been going on around the area, and Connor is the fire chief at the station Engine 55, also called the Dogpatch, and Rexxx proves reliable as a great smeller and rescue dog for the fire department. The filmmakers that knew Rexxx assume by the way that he died falling out of the plane, and held a funeral, but when they see the news report with their star dog on it they go to where he is and sadly have to take him back to where he belongs. Rexxx does escape though, and he goes to help the fire brigade as they tackle another fire, but Shane overhears a conversation by ruthless businessman Corbin Sellars (Matt Cooke) that this arson is a diversion. Sellars has been creating these deliberate fires around the area in order to buy the land, and the last place in the way of achieving this goal is the fire station, but in the end Rexxx, or Dewey, saves the day, the villain is caught, and the dog is allowed to stay with his new family. Also starring Sister Act's Bill Nunn as Joe Musto, Scotch Ellis Loring as Lionel Bradford, Mayte Garcia as Pep Clemente, Teddy Sears as Terence Kahn, Steven Culp as Zachary Hayden and Dash Mihok as Trey Falcon. The human actors do their parts reasonably, and the dog is obviously the cuddly and lovable star, the story suffers though with predictable material and a subplot that not everyone may be interested in, if you like animals (specifically dogs) then you will like this, but otherwise it is not something I would feel like watching again, a silly action comedy. Adequate!
Review of Firehouse Dog
