Philip French 

Old Dogs

This variation on The Odd Couple is possibly the worst comedy of the year, writes Philip French
  
  

Old Dogs
'Desperately unfunny': Robin Williams and John Travolta in Old Dogs. Photograph: Ron Phillips Photograph: Ron Phillips/PR

How desperately unfunny is this variation on The Odd Couple, starring an ingratiating Robin Williams at his most sentimental and a slobbish John Travolta at his least attractive? Well, we first see them walking a giant hound in Central Park, and eight minutes later, without a joke having exploded, the said dog walks in and pees over a carpet for a laugh. After that, at the briefest of intervals, a wieldable instrument or moveable object hits someone in the crotch. Williams's shy, twice-married romantic and Travolta's suave, cynical womaniser have been friends for over 30 years and run a sports promotion business in New York. Just as they're working on a major Japanese deal, Williams discovers that the accidental consequence of an annulled 24-hour marriage is a pair of grotesque seven-year-old twins, and he and Travolta are obliged to care for them while their mother is away in jail as an environmental protester. I won't tempt a vengeful providence by calling it the worst comedy of the year.

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*