Underdog

I admit I didn’t go into this one with the most open mind. The preview did not impress and I am not a fan of the lead actor or at least the type of hero he usually represents. I like puppies but I was suspicious of the sheer numbers of them in the preview. From the beginning, the acting seemed very stilted and I immediately noticed that little tinkling background music that I thought Hallmark had quit doing and which, to me signals what I don’t know, but I always feel like the production company is trying to hide something or they are trying to lull me into not noticing any rough edges the movie might have. The main thing that put me off though, was the wrong season. If this is a “Countdown to Summer” Hallmark movie, and it is, because I checked, why is everyone wearing sweaters and puffy jackets? And why are there dead leaves swirling all about, an orange wreath, and a hay-bale prop for decoration? What was Hallmark trying to pull here? Pitiful! It violates the unspoken Hallmark covenant that we will have spring movies in the spring, summer movies in the summer, Pumpkin etc. movies in the autumn, and Christmas movies all year round but especially at Christmas. Just kidding, but not really.

Anyway back to the movie. Scarlett and her Dad are totally immersed in the dog and puppy business. The dad breeds and sells golden retrievers in his immaculate home.  He is supposed to be a lovely guy and loves dogs but there are so many puppies at his house, it should be a chaotic mess but it’s not. It was an immediate alarm bell. Scarlet holds 20-something patents or patents pending on dog toys, and designs dog parks and dog houses. Her current project is a dog treat that is very healthy for dogs and is also delicious. And dogs do love it. She and her friend and pet store owner played by sometime Hallmark lead, Kathryn Davis,  are trying to get other pet stores to carry it. After a lot of “no”s she finally pitches it to the hunky general manager (Stephen Huszar, our hero, Alex) ) of one store in a national chain. He agrees to carry the treats when his own dog goes apeshit over them. His regional manager, who has a romantic interest in him, agrees to put it in the other stores in the region and if things go well, there is a prospect of national distribution. It really is a great dog treat and Scarlett is in seventh heaven and goes all out investment-wise. This is where the evil villain, the owner of the big powerful rival dog food corporation named “Pup-Chuck” (Yes! Loved it!) pops up. He knows nothing and cares nothing about dogs or what they eat, he is just interested in profits. He is a caricature of the worst sort of avaricious businessman. He threatens Michelle, the aforementioned regional manager of Pets and Wellness Emporium, that if they allow the vastly superior product in their stores he will pull strings and even turn the FDA loose on them. She has no choice but to cancel the large order from Scarlett’s Pup Palate and break Scarlett’s heart.

Given the subject matter, I was on the watch for the usual ”bad business” scenarios that usually plague Hallmark productions and there were plenty. I am not going to go into all the could-never-happen-in-real-life business stuff, but the highlight was when Scarlett set up a booth promoting their rival product on Paws and Wellness’s private property and right outside their door! Why did they even think they could do that? And the love-struck  store manager lets them! Not surprisingly, higher ups and law enforcement get involved.

There is a good bit of Hallmark’s recurring theme of “work-life balance” tossed into the script and the romance has the usual ups and downs. Really nothing to talk about there. But I love a good David and Goliath story and when the Goliath role is as hiss-worthy as this one was, I couldn’t help but get somewhat invested in the story. When Alex and Scarlett invade his pet store company’s corporate headquarters and crash a big meeting where evil guy is trying to get the CEO to sign an exclusive contract with him, I was on high alert. It turns out that the CEO of the pet store chain was a super great guy and all but told the bad guy to sit down and shut up, he wanted to hear what his store manager and the girl dressed in the dog costume had to say! When he opens the package of Scarlett’s dog treats, his own doggie comes running and pounces on the treat in greedy delight. The head honcho is sold and says, and I quote, “We’ve gotta ask ourselves, what’s more important, a healthy profit line or a healthy puppy? My hero. I really appreciated that the personification of evil and ignorance in the corporate world was balanced by this wise and good man. Can we have a movie about him please?

However, while I appreciated the triumph of the underdog, The vanquishment of evil, and the heroic, wise and good CEO at the end, there were just too many weaknesses and questionable aspects to overcome the positives. It was an unchallenging Hallmark comfort movie full of cute puppies, which is fine for many, but not for me.