The Dog Who Saved the Holidays (TV Movie 2012)

The Dog Who Saved the Holidays (TV Movie 2012). 1h 23m | PG

“This is not exactly a Christmas classic. Two actors do stand out. Elisa Donovan, who looks too pretty to be celebrating 20 years of marriage, really rises above the material she is given. And Joey Diaz as u0026quot;Dumberu0026quot; actually comes across as pretty smart, and does a better job as a bumbling villain than partner Dean Cain. Jack Scalia does a good job too as the evil loan shark. I just wish Cain had been a good guy because for the most part, he just doesnu0026#39;t have the ability to play a villain. Thatu0026#39;s not to say he doesnu0026#39;t have some good scenes. Gary Valentine as George does reasonably well. And the actors doing animal voices other than the dogs are pretty good. As for the dogs, their voice actors are not that special.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe dogs seem really intelligent. Iu0026#39;m referring to the canine actors, of course. The characters are geniuses.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a family film, but not squeaky clean. It does have some bathroom humor and, while not explicit, does have some adult discussions about relationships between married people. Kids might get bored with George and Belindau0026#39;s problems. Plus there are threatening situations for the dogs, but nothing too serious–I mean, look who weu0026#39;re dealing with. Still, it has to be geared toward kids because letu0026#39;s face it: most of the dialogue is apparently intended just for them.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eToward the end this is kind of a low-budget u0026quot;Home Aloneu0026quot;–very little excitement compared to that masterpiece of slapstick, but still a few laughs.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis movie should get credit for one thing: acknowledging the true meaning of Christmas. The kids donu0026#39;t want to go to church on Christmas Eve, but Belinda insists and George goes along.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere seems to be an epidemic of movies where Elisa Donovan has a dog and doesnu0026#39;t want to spend Christmas with her mother, in which Michael Gross plays a Scrooge. Keep in mind, though, how Scrooge turned out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s probably worth seeing. If you like the formula of heroic pets and bumbling villains.”