Very Cool!!!

ridiculous rating

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Charming period piece about a boy and his dog...and so much more. In the end we see an older Willie, played by Michael Berkshire (check out his work in Little Marines II as well). If Blade Runner can do a sequel 23 years later, why not Skip? A grown up Willie as a veterinarian would be awesome. Plus it would be a great vehicle for Berkshire to return to the big screen. He has been woefully underused lately in my opinion. This could be just the career boost he needs, like Travolta after Pulp Fiction.

It's a simple film: no special effects, no complex camera movements, no explosions, or buildings falling down, monsters flying or running. No. Just a movie about a boy and his dog and how it's complex grow up, but can be fun, at the same time. "My Dog Skip" (2000) is one of that movies where you know will find emotional scenes or happiness moments, but even so you watch. Is it a predictable movie, maybe? Yeah, but this does not detract the shine of a story about a shy boy and his discovery of life. Willie Morris, or Will for his parents (because he don't have any friend of his age) it's a shy and alone boy, living on the calm town of Yazoo on the dark years of WWII. As he describe at the beginning: "Ten Townsend souls and nothing to do". Is this a nice place to live and grow? Not for Willie. Without friends, his life is empty and he's constantly annoyed by other boys. His parents try to understand the son, especially his father, described by Willie as a "soldier of Spanish Civil War, where lost part of his leg… and sometimes, I believe he's lost the heart too". His mom is sweet and understandable, trying to help her boy. Well, his life changes when he won a dog on his birthday. Called Skip, the animal will be the way of Willie understands himself and how to confront the world. Skip helps the boy to make friends, talk with his love girl and finally, be mature... grow up. This is the soul of "My Dog Skip". The director Jay Russell tries, at the first shoot, connect the story with his public. To be more specific: connect the characters with the public. When the dog appears, this important thing (connection) becomes more important. What does that means? It means that we'll care about the characters, their conflicts, problems… their lives. It's how if we could see ourselves on silver screen. To create a story, beyond the boy discover himself, Jay Russell adds a stolen of beers. The thieves are hiding drinks on the cemetery. But this part of the screenplay it's not so important than we discover how Will confront the life, the social problems (racism and racial segregation – we don't have to forget that the story takes place at 1940's) and moral conflicts (his best friend disinherits the Army and come back dishonored). All this things are seen by the point of view of a boy. It's a good movie, even if we know how will be the final, we see. Just because the director tried to connect the characters, the conflicts with the public. It's very grateful see this worry, a thing that, unfortunately, was forgotten by the directors and screen writers. "My Dog Skip" it's an old movie (have 15 years old), but must be revisited many times, just for understand how its important connect the story with public. Emotional, funny, sometimes sad, and the point of view of a boy about the growing… and how a dog can change the life forever. This is the soul of "My Dog Skip"!

I caught this on WGN and wound up watching it because out of 300+ channels on cable, there was nothing else worth watching. My first impression was formed by the syrupy background music that played almost continuously throughout the film. If it had lyrics, they would be, "Open up some Kleenex and just cry, cry, cry." I cried, all right, but for the wrong reasons. Any film that involves the use of animals inevitably includes harming said animals, and My Dog Skip was no exception. From the graphic hunting death of a deer to the verbal/physical abuse of the dog, this project could not have been pleasant for the title character, who out-acted all his human counterparts. Keep in mind the fact that movies are only fictional where people are concerned. Animals only experience it as real-life mistreatment that they cannot comprehend.The plot can be summarized in two words: Who cares? It's a coming-of-age tale about a boy named Willie and his terrier Skip in small-town 1940s Mississippi. Willie has growing pains. He has to contend with a stern father, the town bullies, his complete inability to play baseball, an inexplicable, mostly one-sided friendship with a WWII veteran who is painted as the town pariah, and a first love named Rivers, to whom we never find out what happens. Most of the characters are completely forgettable, and the narrative consists of loosely-pasted vignettes of a dreary childhood. I only saw this movie last night, and I don't remember much of anything except being surprised to learn that, in the c. 1945 South, white families could watch young black men playing baseball after dark. (Read Maya Angelou if you don't understand what I'm saying here.) A violent scene leaves the viewer feeling lousy, after which the story just peters out. We see Willie rowing his girlfriend on a pond--probably an allusion to his Rhodes scholarship, which requires athletic ability--and then he suddenly grows up and blows town, leaving the aging Skip all by himself. If the film's hypocritical concluding drivel doesn't make you want to throw up, then nothing ever can. Comparatively speaking, Old Yeller was more cherished than ol' Skip.I don't recommend this film to animal lovers of any age, particularly children, because they won't understand its conclusion. I'm not even sure that I do, if for no other reason than to wonder how in the hell a dimwit like Willie ever made it into Oxford.

Frankie Muniz plays a shy boy named "Willie Morris" growing up during World War II in the small town of Yazoo, Mississippi. Being shy and the fact that he is much smaller than the local boys his age causes him to be bullied and lacking any friends except a much older high school neighbor named "Dink Jenkins" (Luke Wilson) who he idolizes. When Dink enlists in the Army and is sent to Europe, Willie is left all alone. Realizing just how lonely he is his mother, "Ellen Morris" (Diane Lane) decides to get him a dog over the objections of his father, "Jack Morris" (Kevin Bacon). It turns out that "Skip" is just what he so desperately needs as they soon become inseparable companions through all of life's challenges. Anyway, so much for the basic plot. What I enjoyed about this film was the way it conveyed the importance this particular dog had on this young boy's life--sometimes without him fully realizing it until much later. Now, this movie certainly isn't perfect but it still manages to entertain fairly well. In short, it's an enjoyable bit of sentimentality that is suitable for all ages. Slightly above average.