Dog is the debut directing gig for movie star Channing Tatum. He also takes the lead as a burnt-out ex-army man babysitting a neurotic dog.
Simon Morris: I've always rather liked Channing Tatum, a dancer turned leading man who back in Hollywood's Golden Age might have made a career alternating between musicals and westerns.
These days he's become a sort of modern-day Clint Eastwood leading man, with a few interesting choices thrown in - as stripper hero Magic Mike, as an undercover teenager in 21 Jump Street, and as a dancer turned Russian spy in the Coen Brothers' Hail Caesar.
But I wouldn't have thought he had a hankering to direct.
Mind you, people said the same about Eastwood, and Channing Tatum's debut - he co-directs with writer Reid Carolin - is an undeniably sure-footed piece of work.
It's called Dog, and it stars Tatum as a burnt-out Army Ranger called Briggs, who's desperate to get back into the service.
He's given the job of escorting another army casualty called Lulu. Lulu is an army dog - a Belgian Malinois, to be exact - who's had an emotional breakdown after the death of her handler, Riley Rodriguez.
The Rodriguez family want Lulu at the funeral three states away.
Briggs knew both Rodriguez and Lulu in happier times and sees no problem taking on babysitting duties. But Lulu is not the dog she was.
She won't relate to anyone now that her partner's dead. Least of all the rather slap-happy Briggs.
You get the idea of where Dog is heading. A bit of Midnight run - a hostile couple on the road with a ticking clock. Quite a bit of An Officer and a Gentleman - the Army is two losers' last chance. And a smidgeon of Lassie come home to seal the deal.
It looks, as they say, director-proof.
Of course, it isn't. No movie depending on animals in leading roles is ever that. But it does gain enormously from the lead performances.
Lulu is actually played by a number of dogs, but they all bring their A-game.
And so does star Channing Tatum, who gives director Channing Tatum a nicely understated but heartfelt performance.
Tatum clearly realised he had to put the work in, developing a believable relationship with his canine co-stars.
He brings out the best of the various Lulus, not least when he's fighting with his charge.
In many ways it's a romantic comedy format - boy meets dog, they both don't get on, over the movie they fall in love.
But it takes quite a bit of help. When Lulu runs away the first time of many, she's rescued by a hippie couple who suggest that Briggs and Lulu might want to try communication.
And sometimes Lulu's Army training is unhelpful in Civvy Street. Briggs sweet-talks their way into a fancy hotel by cashing in on Lulu's war decorations.
Oh, and claiming she's a seeing-eye dog now. It does work better in the movie!
Things go south when Afghanistan veteran Lulu spots a nice gentleman in the lobby, who's clearly of Middle Eastern stock.
She takes off, Briggs blows his cover chasing after her, then tries a desperate ploy when they're sprung.
As I say, it works better in the film. And that's down to how well Dog is directed.
So can Channing Tatum follow in the footsteps of Clint Eastwood, or will he be satisfied with one small but pretty successful movie?
He's clearly got some chops. But movie-starring is an awful lot easier than movie-making.
