Show Dogs

Max, a macho Rottweiler K-9 police dog, attempts to rescue Ling-Li, a baby giant panda, from being sold by an animal smuggling ring but inadvertently foils an FBI sting operation involving his human partner Frank, who blames Max for letting the criminals escape. The two enemies must now work together and pose as a show dog and his trainer at the Canini Invitational dog show in Las Vegas to stop the animal smuggling ring.

• Will Arnett as Frank Nicholas
• Natasha Lyonne as Mattie
• Omar Chaparro as Señor Gabriel
• Andy Beckwith as Berne
• Oliver Tompsett as Chauncey
• Simon Lipkin as Captured Smuggler
• Kerry Shale as Thin Man
• Colin Stinton as NYPD Chief
• Lachele Carl as FBI Director
• Khali Best as Dog Pound Attendant
• Bradley Gosnell as Stage Manager
• Zachery Lou Wilson as Caesars Security Guard
• Ronni Ancona as Poopsie Chow’s Owner
• Melanie Ebanks as Animal Control Officer
• Lysander Abadia as Hallway Dog's Owner
• Christina Dohmen as Cupcake Chef
• Ben Kerr as NYPD Cop
• Renee Castle as News Anchor
• Flaminia Cinque as Spa Manager
• Sean Alexander as Magician
• Madeleine Woolner as Perfumier
• Patsy Hollings, Steve Rose, Carol Durrant, Alex Paisey and Lynda Race as Canini Judges
• Beth Richardson and Shannon Sangiorgio as Philippe’s Selfie Fans

• Ludacris as Max, a Rottweiler
• Jordin Sparks as Daisy, an Australian Shepherd
• RuPaul as Persephone, a Xoloitzcuintle
• Gabriel Iglesias as Sprinkles, a Pug
• Shaquille O'Neal as Karma, a Komondor
• Stanley Tucci as Philippe, a Papillon
• Alan Cumming as Dante, a Yorkshire Terrier
• Anders Holm, Blake Anderson, and Kate Micucci as Pigeons
• Kerry Shale as Sarge, Luther, Deepak the Tiger, Chicago Rottweiler, Backstage Dogs
• Bradley Gosnell as Caesars Announcer, Rottweiler, Male Labrador Retriever, King Poodle, Agility Dogs, Backstage Dogs
• Delaney Milbourn as Sparky, Ling Li, Mama Rottweiler, Afghan, Female Labrador, Cannonball Terrier, Cowabunga Dog, Backstage Dogs
• Stephen Hogan as Bullmastiff, Canini Announcer
• Andrew Ortenberg as Agility dogs, Backstage Dogs

Show Dogs began filming on November 28, 2016, at Pinewood Studio Wales in Great Britain, with additional scenes filmed on location in Las Vegas.{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/will-arnett-natasha-lyonne-show-dogs-1201935262/|title=Will Arnett, Natasha Lyonne to Star in Family Comedy 'Show Dogs'|last=McNary|first=Dave|date=December 7, 2016|newspaper=Variety|publisher=Penske Business Media|access-date=January 18, 2017|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331204515/https://variety.com/2016/film/news/will-arnett-natasha-lyonne-show-dogs-1201935262/|url-status=live}}

Show Dogs was released in the United States on May 18, 2018. The film was later released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on August 21, 2018.

Show Dogs grossed $17.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $20.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $38.8 million.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=showdogs.htm |title=Show Dogs |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=November 22, 2018 |archive-date=September 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915123023/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=showdogs.htm |url-status=live }}

In the United States and Canada, Show Dogs was released on May 18, 2018, alongside Deadpool 2 and Book Club, and was projected to gross $7–9 million from 3,145 theaters in its opening weekend.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/deadpool-2-box-office-worldwide-opening-1202391617/|title='Deadpool 2' To Kick Up Potential $350M Opening Around The Globe – Box Office Preview|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|date=May 15, 2018|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-date=May 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516003158/http://deadline.com/2018/05/deadpool-2-box-office-worldwide-opening-1202391617/|url-status=live}} It ended up debuting to $6 million, finishing sixth at the box office.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-2-weekend-box-office-opening-1202393815/|title='Deadpool 2' Swinging In As Second-Best Opening For R-Rated Pic With $125M|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|date=May 20, 2018|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|access-date=May 20, 2018|archive-date=May 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521200212/http://deadline.com/2018/05/ryan-reynolds-deadpool-2-weekend-box-office-opening-1202393815/|url-status=live}} It dropped 49% in its second weekend to $3.1 million, finishing seventh.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/solo-a-star-wars-weekend-box-office-1202397848/|title=Why Is 'Solo' Flying So Low At The B.O.? Memorial Day Opening Now At $114M+|website=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|date=May 26, 2018|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|access-date=May 27, 2018|archive-date=May 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529162745/http://deadline.com/2018/05/solo-a-star-wars-weekend-box-office-1202397848/|url-status=live}}

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews and an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The website's critical consensus reads, "Show Dogs may entertain very young viewers, but for anyone else, it threatens the cinematic equivalent of a rolled-up newspaper on the snout."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/show_dogs|title=Show Dogs (2018)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}|archive-date=May 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510232521/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/show_dogs/|url-status=live}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".{{cite web|title=Show Dogs Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/show-dogs|website=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|access-date=May 24, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206182018/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/show-dogs|url-status=live}} Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com gave the film 0.5 out of four stars and said that from "the barely-there characters to the cheesy visual effects to the flat attempts at knowingly corny laughs, this reeks of the kind of material you'd have the misfortune of discovering in the bargain bin under the merciless fluorescent lights of your local soulless superstore. It is bleak indeed. Your family deserves better."{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/show-dogs-2018 |title=Show Dogs Movie Review |last=Lemire |first=Christy |date=May 18, 2018 |website=RogerEbert.com |publisher=Ebert Digital LLC |access-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531211825/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/show-dogs-2018 |url-status=live }}

Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film zero out of four stars and strongly criticized (among other things) the production, jokes, and pacing; ultimately concluding that "Show Dogs is really bad, even for a talking-dog movie" and that "we all deserve a better live-action talking-dog movie than this."{{cite web |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/movies/article/Show-Dogs-falls-miles-short-of-the-12921061.php |title='Show Dogs' falls miles short of the winner's circle |last=Hartlaub |first=Peter |date=May 17, 2018 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531211825/https://www.sfchronicle.com/movies/article/Show-Dogs-falls-miles-short-of-the-12921061.php |url-status=live }}

British film critic Mark Kermode also panned the film in his review and later declared it the worst film of 2018.

In contrast, Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "...thanks to some creative character casting and a self-aware script that isn't averse to poking fun at itself, Show Dogs emerges as a high-concept family comedy that manages to avoid being taken for the runt of the litter, even if it doesn't really bring anything fresh and different to the arena."{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/show-dogs-review-1112890|title='Show Dogs': Film Review|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=May 17, 2018|date=May 20, 2018|first=Michael|last=Rechtshaffen|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|archive-date=May 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518012735/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/show-dogs-review-1112890|url-status=live}}

{{quote box |width=25em | bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |align=right |salign=right|quote=The movie's solution to Max's discomfort with the inspection is not to empower him to escape it somehow; it's to have him learn to check out mentally while he endures it, and to make no outward sign of his humiliation. It is not paranoid to say that this is a bad message for kids.|source= —Ruth Graham{{cite web | url=https://slate.com/culture/2018/05/show-dogs-movie-accused-of-spreading-unsafe-ideas-about-child-sexual-abuse.html | title=The Parenting Internet Is up in Arms About a Movie Critics Say "Grooms" Children for Sexual Abuse | first=Ruth | last=Graham | work=Slate | publisher=The Slate Group | date=May 22, 2018 | access-date=May 23, 2018 | archive-date=May 23, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523054119/https://slate.com/culture/2018/05/show-dogs-movie-accused-of-spreading-unsafe-ideas-about-child-sexual-abuse.html | url-status=live }}}}

The film was criticized for normalizing child grooming based on a plot point that depicts the canine main character being forced to have his genitals fondled by a dog show judge without consent. In the film, other characters "teach" him not to think about it and to go to his "happy place" when that happens. Initially, in a test screening for the film, online magazine Macaroni Kid{{'}}s Terina Maldonado said "With the #MeToo movement and all the talk of sexual predators in Hollywood, I couldn't help but think this message, that is blatantly in the open for adults to see, but over a child's understanding, is meant to groom children to be open to having people touch their privates, even though they don't want it."{{Cite web |title=Show Dogs, Don't Let Your Children Be Groomed, Use This to Teach Them |first=Terina |last=Maldonado |date=May 20, 2018 |website=Macaroni Kid |url=https://eastmesa.macaronikid.com/articles/5b017dc3700a6450421ef1c2 |access-date=June 5, 2018 |archive-date=May 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523063918/https://eastmesa.macaronikid.com/articles/5b017dc3700a6450421ef1c2 |url-status=live }}

Spurred on by this review, other professional reviewers agreed that the child grooming implications were "disturbing and serious". Bob Hoose of Focus on the Family's entertainment guide "Plugged in" described the content in his review but did not ascribe motive, although he did not disagree with Maldonado's interpretation.{{cite web | url=https://pluggedin.focusonthefamily.com/about-show-dogs/ | title=About Show Dogs... | first=Bob | last=Hoose | work=Plugged In | publisher=Focus on the Family | date=May 21, 2018 | access-date=May 22, 2018 | archive-date=May 22, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522111745/https://pluggedin.focusonthefamily.com/about-show-dogs/ | url-status=live }} Slate{{'}}s Ruth Graham said that the genital fondling subplot was "darker" than the light-hearted humor in the rest of the film.

The British Board of Film Classification took a different perspective, writing in its annual report, "Before the film started its UK release, some members of the public, who had not yet seen it but who had read blog posts from the US suggesting that these scenes might reduce the resistance of children to adults touching them inappropriately, expressed concerns. However, the scene in question is light, comic and entirely non-sexual, if a little rude. Our view is that the US allegations were a misinterpretation of the scene in question."{{cite web |author1=British Board of Film Classification |author-link=British Board of Film Classification |title=Annual Report and Accounts: 1 January 2018 - 31 December 2018 |url=https://bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/BBFC%20ANNUAL%20REPORT%20AND%20ACCOUNTS%202018%20.pdf |page=23 |date=2019 |access-date=June 8, 2019 |archive-date=June 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611184927/https://bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/BBFC%20ANNUAL%20REPORT%20AND%20ACCOUNTS%202018%20.pdf |url-status=dead }}

In response to these concerns, the film's co-writer Max Botkin stated that he did not write those scenes and that the original script was "heavily rewritten by 13 other writers", going on to strongly condemn the themes in question.{{cite web | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/22/entertainment/show-dogs-controversy/index.html | title='Show Dogs' sparks criticism over perceived message about sexual abuse | first=Sandra | last=Gonzales | publisher=CNN | date=May 22, 2018 | access-date=May 23, 2018 | archive-date=May 23, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523062718/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/22/entertainment/show-dogs-controversy/index.html | url-status=live }} Additionally, the film's distributor Global Road Entertainment announced they were re-cutting the film and resubmitting it to theaters in time for its second weekend, stating the following to Deadline Hollywood:

{{blockquote

|quote = Responding to concerns raised by moviegoers and some specific organizations, Global Road Entertainment has decided to remove two scenes from the film Show Dogs that some have deemed not appropriate for children. The company takes these matters very seriously and remains committed to providing quality entertainment for the intended audiences based on the film’s rating. We apologize to anybody who feels the original version of Show Dogs sent an inappropriate message. The revised version of the film will be available for viewing nationwide starting this weekend.{{cite news|last1=D'Alessandro|first1=Anthony|title='Show Dogs' Getting Re-Cut By Global Road In Response To Concerns Over Inappropriate Sex Abuse Message|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/show-dogs-sex-abuse-controversy-film-edit-and-rereleased-1202396809/|access-date=May 24, 2018|work=Deadline Hollywood|publisher=Penske Business Media|date=May 23, 2018|archive-date=May 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524001305/http://deadline.com/2018/05/show-dogs-sex-abuse-controversy-film-edit-and-rereleased-1202396809/|url-status=live}}

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The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, formerly Morality in Media, still objected to the edited version of the film, writing that it retains many of the controversial genital-touching scenes and thus strongly advising parents and caregivers to avoid taking children to it.{{cite web |url=https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/statement-movie-show-dogs-still-grooms-children-sex-abuse-recut-film-fails-remove-scenes-genital-touching/ |title=STATEMENT: Movie Show Dogs Still Grooms Children for Sex Abuse Recut of Film Fails to Remove Scenes of Genital Touching |last=Hawkins |first=Dan |date=May 29, 2018 |publisher=National Center on Sexual Exploitation |access-date=June 1, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140214/https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/statement-movie-show-dogs-still-grooms-children-sex-abuse-recut-film-fails-remove-scenes-genital-touching/ |url-status=live }}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://showdogs-movie.com/}}
• {{IMDb title|5691024}}

{{Raja Gosnell}}

Category:2018 comedy films

Category:2018 films

Category:2010s buddy cop films

Category:American comedy films

Category:British comedy films

Category:Films about dogs

Category:Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Category:Film controversies

Category:Animal cruelty incidents in film

Category:Obscenity controversies in film

Category:Open Road Films films

Category:Films directed by Raja Gosnell

Category:Films scored by Heitor Pereira

Category:Self-censorship

Category:Films set in Nevada

Category:Films set in the Las Vegas Valley

Category:Films with screenplays by Marc Hyman

Category:2010s English-language films

Category:2010s American films

Category:2010s British films

Category:Child grooming

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Category:English-language thriller films

Category:English-language buddy comedy films