Benji (1974)

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1. 

   Siskoid

   The first movie I ever saw was Benji, back in what was probably 1975, in a screening room in the city hall of the village I then lived in, dubbed in French. I was four years old, at most, and my memory is more of going to see it than anything that was on the screen. Seeing it again for the first time in 45 years, it really is for the kiddies, isn't it? I guess if you really like cute, well-trained dogs and don't need a plot, you'll be satisfied. But woof, this might work as a 45-minute television episode, but at twice the length, it's padded beyond redemption. They certainly didn't have enough music for a whole film, and Benji's theme was in danger of driving me insane before the end of the first act. Watch Benji run from friend to friend in town. Okay let's do that a second time. Okay, how about a third but now he has a girlfriend? Eventually, a kidnapping plot turns up and Benji becomes an episode of Lassie where no one understands what she's saying, and the movie tips into tonal dissonance (it looks like a dog is brutally killed, sorry kids) and Benji has flashbacks to when he was, what, a police dog?! You can't pull the K-9 memory trick at the hour mark, Joe Camp! You have to understand, Higgins, the dog playing Benji, is unimpeachable. He's the Joaquin Phoenix of the canine set. But he's embarrassingly supported by the other actors who are either pitching their performances at little kids, or as just BAD. The only actor I want to watch is Terry Carter (Colonel Tigh from classic Battlestar Galactica), but he's criminally underused. I don't think you can call yourself a family film if you're not for the WHOLE family, and that means the adults too. 4 years 1 month ago

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