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 Rating: PG-13
Starring: Molly Shannon, Peter Sarsgaard, John C. Reilly, Laura Dern
Directed by: Mike White
Year of the Dog does not take your run-of-the-mill approach to presenting its theme. Using a poignant method, which for some may seem drastically unorthodox, this movie sends a strong message to its audience about staying true to ones own convictions, no matter what others may think or say.
Molly Shannon, better known for her "Supastar" skits on Saturday Night Live, plays shy, unassuming, mild-mannered Peggy Spade—a secretary in her 30s, who works for a neurotic manager, Robin (Josh Pais). Her professional life is nothing to get excited about, but it allows Peggy to stay in the "safe zone". She is well-liked by her co-workers and she has earned a place in her boss's circle of trust.
If Peggy's professional life doesn't do much to impress the viewers, her personal life will do even less. That's because her greatest interest is her adorable canine companion, Pencil. He is her greatest joy, and the way by which Peggy defines her own significance. Pencil gives Peggy self-purpose.
One day tragedy strikes. Pencil gets out of the yard and rummages in the neighbors garage, where he stumbles across a pesticide, ingesting it. Pencil dies as a consequence, and Peggy is left to suffer the trauma of losing a dearly beloved friend. Peggy's suffering requires her friend Layla (Regina King) to come to her aid and pull her out of her slump. Layla does this by helping Peggy see that Pencil's death was a sign for her to get out of her shell and seek a greater purpose.
Layla encourages Peggy to start dating again. Here's where the irony comes into play. Peggy's first date, after a number of dateless years, is her neighbor Al (John C. Reilly). She suspects he had something to do; however indirectly, with Pencil's demise. Al, as Peggy comes to discover, is an avid hunting enthusiast. His insatiable need to kill animals draws him in to seek even the most endangered of species. His passion is what drives his incompassionate behavior toward the ecosystem's plight. "Get 'em before they all run out," is his sentiments on hunting and collecting species on the brink of extinction.
Peggy, much to her dismay, is discovering it to be quite the challenge, trying to find someone who understands her profound sense of loss. Even her brother, Pier (Thomas McCarthy) and sister-in-law, Brett (Laura Dern) seem more concerned about how their children are "processing Aunt Peggy's grief", than they are about Peggy's emotional state. As Brett over-protectively cautions, "It's hard to process death."
Peggy knows she needs someone or something to help her fill the void in her life and it's not long before Newt (Peter Sarsgaard) comes to the rescue. Newt works at the animal clinic where Peggy brought Pencil to be treated for poisoning. Newt is active with the ASPCA and obsessed with animal rights. Newt tells Peggy that he has the perfect dog to help her get past her grief. Valentine, the dog in question, is perfect except for one tiny minor detail—he was rescued from an abusive home and now suffers from...ahem..."issues".
This wouldn't be all that bad had it not been for the fact that the beloved, but tormented, Valentine is a humongous German Sheppard that shows very little promise in the obedience department. Newt and Peggy begin an indescribable sort of relationship, which is putting it nicely, where Newt introduces Peggy to Veganism. As Newt tells Peggy, on behalf of his own defense and sales pitch for a vegan lifestyle, "if you can't kill it, you shouldn't eat it."
 Molly Shannon
Peggy experiences resistance from her family and friends, due to her new found passion for animals' rights, but she also discovers society's hypocrisy when she looks around the office and notices the things that her co-workers invest their energies in. Some are sports fanatics, while others are rock music nuts and frenetic, cartoon, action-figure collectors.
So what's so terrible if Peggy is almost militant about animals' rights? As she simply puts it, "Life is magical. It is so precious. So many things to love..." With so many things out there to love, it's noble for one to stay true to his or her own convictions about what it is that drives them to be passionate. She stood by her convictions, when everyone around her questioned her sanity, and in doing so, showed admirable courage that added a well needed dimension to her character.
While Peggy's passion, bordering along the line of obsession, may appear weird to some, at least it reaffirms the idea that the greatest gift anyone could know in this life, is life itself.
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