When did Lee Pace and Judy Greer get old enough to play the parents of a teenager? Where did adapting a comic-strip about a comically destructive giant dog turn him into the canine version of an American high-schooler in an astonishingly derivative fish-out-of-water plot? What is William H. Macy doing? Why did no-one at the studio notice that this plot was entirely recycled from a string of forgettable family comedies and teen movies? Who do they think that this ill-considered mishmash of teen be-yourself proselytising and kiddie fart jokes will appeal to?
The cast struggle manfully through, and you might crack a smile (an Almost Famous “I am a golden dog!” reference is bizarre but at least amusing), but the entire effort is misconceived and the effects dodgy. Bad dog!