Sun Dogs (2017)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

the audience applauded

Great Film overall

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

I absolutely loved this movie. It is heartwarming. It leaves a bright feeling afterwards even though the major topic might seem quite upsetting. I think it is a great directorial debut of Jennifer Morrison. Beautiful cinematography, the cast fits perfectly! Melissa Benoist, Michael Angarano, and of course Oscar-winning Allison Janney got my attention from the very beginning. It is a beautiful story about persistence, dedication, and desire to help people. I wish there were more movies like this.

In general, movie is OK. It's decently acted, directed, story is OK, deals with real people having real issues.But, even though one of the presumably main "messages" of the movie is that everybody needs a purpose (in life), the movie doesn't seem to have one. Sure, one could argue is that the purpose of the movie is to inform you that everybody needs a purpose... but that's very, very weak.It seems to have a well known problem of first-time directors, especially established actors. Director seems to care more about "not screwing up" and "doing a professional job" (to overcome some objections like "this actress thinks she can direct"), then the movie itself. She just lets the story go its way, but, while such things can work well in books, they rarely work so well in movies.The thing is, by the end the mentally challenged guy hasn't really found a purpose. As his surrogate father points out, going around the bridge trying to find out who wants to jump and prevent them, isn't a real job. Without some support system, he's bound to either screw up (make someone jump who actually didn't really want to) or simply fail and get depressed again, wearing the mascot head for weeks. Maybe Tally could have helped him to find some group that actually provides such a support system - after all, she is Supergirl ;) and San Francisco is a big city. Not sure that 's the best ending to the story, but it's certainly _an_ ending.Bottom line, if you like Jennifer Morrison or some of the actors of this movie, it's an OK watch, sort of like having a chat with some friends. Otherwise, skip this.

This movie can be difficult to watch; you are watching a quirky, obviously mentally challenged guy try to find his way in the world. a good-hearted person knows that everyone is different and unique and beautiful in their own way; of course, that was how I saw him! But that doesn't mean that it isn't normal for someone to want to yell at him for pretending to be someone that he is not. The movie shows the messy, chaotic, disheveled way that things evolve in people's lives-how they affect one another and subtly cause change in the other. Probably a lot of the interactions he had with some people were implausible, but that's what movies are for. Slogging through, he eventually makes it to the purpose in life that can work for him. This movie can be seen as how God's grace works in people's lives, and I enjoyed seeing an example here. Anyway, if you are not good-hearted, you will probably just get frustrated by him as well as the other seeming "losers" around him.

Most films I see have some kind of hidden Left Wing political message to drive home. I thought this one was trying to say that the terrorist threat is mostly in the imagination of mentally challenged people. Or that we shouldn't racially profile middle easterners.But I don't know for sure that it was. It may have been showing that while defeating terrorism is a noble cause, it wasn't the appropriate calling for this particular guy. I loved how despite his obsession with a military calling and his personal challenges, he was sharp enough to listen and perceive wisdom from others and change course without losing ultimate purpose. For example when he hears a story about people who jump from a bridge. He didn't forget it.As others have said, almost every character in this one is a genuinely decent person. They all have their challenges and flaws, but they are attracted to doing good. That makes for a unique movie-watching experience. I also love that it doesn't turn into a coming-of-age sex story. That was obviously a temptation. No, it stays true to the character, whose goal is to help people and make a difference, not to conquer rites of missed rites of passage.It avoids music-manipulation, sentimentality, and clichéd characters. It also explores multiple people's goals, beyond those of the protagonist. Most importantly, all of them are influenced by each other.