g people, they say, can also be selfish, terribly stubborn and eccentric. Welcome to Mike White's "Year of the Dog," a film that gives a Chinese restaurant staple three-dimensional, often funny life.

 

Molly Shannon delivers a lovely, nuanced performance as Peggy Bates, who goes into a tailspin of sorrow when her beloved beagle, Pencil, dies. Trying to tame her wild grief, Peggy becomes an animal activist obsessed with saving any and all four-legged creatures. Like the Tin Man, Peggy becomes fully human only when her heart breaks.

 

No more Ms. Nice Guy, she terrorizes a slew of funny characters played by talented actors: obnoxious sister-in-law Laura Dern, hunter/neighbor John C. Reilly, emotionally stunted boss Josh Pais, sexually mixed-up animal activist Peter Sarsgaard and man-obsessed colleague Regina King all give depth to their comic characters and the film. PG-13

 

"?    Kathryn Jenson White  

 

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