Craig Cackowski Movies
An unremarkable administrative assistant finds her life going to the dogs both literally and figuratively in actor/screenwriter-turned-director Mike White's dark comedy drama. An inexplicably cheerful office worker whose somewhat sad excuse for a life seems to revolve around her pet beagle Pencil, Peggy (Molly Shannon) seems to relate better to her four-legged friend than she does to most humans. Most of her person-to-person interaction revolves around doting on other people's children and treating her co-workers to daily donuts, and Peggy just doesn't find much solace in the company of her know-it-all sister-in-law Bret (Laura Dern) or her anxiety-prone boss Robin (Josh Pais). When Peggy's dog Pencil is taken before his time, the devastated dog-lover is wracked with guilt. Now desperate to fill the gaping void that has suddenly opened in her life, Peggy agrees to a date with her gun-nut neighbor Al (John C. Reilly) that ends in disaster when she begins to suspect that the boorish brute may have in fact poisoned her ill-fated pooch. Later, after adopting every dog at the local pound and transforming herself into an overzealous animal-rights activist, the increasingly unhinged Peggy reaches out to asexual activist Newt (Peter Sarsgaard) in a last-grasp attempt at forming a human connection that is met with casual indifference. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, (more)
- 2005
Larry (Larry David) tries to hire a private detective, Omar Jones (Mekhi Phifer), to find out if he's adopted, but Jones explains he's only interested in taking cases that "benefit the community," and Larry's offer to host bingo or be a Big Brother for a single afternoon apparently doesn't cut it. Larry and Jeff (Jeff Garlin) run into Jodi Funkhouser (Mayim Bialik, TV's Blossom), the daughter of their friend Marty (Bob Einstein). She's very friendly, and Larry explains to Jeff that the lesbian community has always embraced him. Later, Marty, who is pressing Larry to attend his anniversary party, promises him that Rosie O'Donnell will be at his table. He also tells Larry that Jodi is now dating a guy, eliciting a joyous response from Larry that puts his relationship with the lesbian community in peril. Also, Larry wears a bowtie, learns from Wanda (Wanda Sykes) that his new dog hates black people, and gets into a spat with a disabled man when he uses the handicapped stall in a public restroom. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
