The Stray - Movie Review

How does one review a family movie? The reviews for The Stray are all over the place, with a decent score of 6.6 at IMDb, and a horrible score at Rotten Tomatoes, where the reviews are a predictable mish-mash of anti-faith hatred. One reviewer went so far as to use the term agitprop, which says more to me about the reviewer than the movie. If you take the atheist hatred out of the equation and look at this film as good family fun, it is much easier to find a fair rating. IMDb manages to find that sweet spot. Rotten Tomatoes critics are just elitist haters.

The Stray is based on a true story. Mitch Davis (Michael Cassidy) works as an executive at Disney. His work is demanding, requiring him to spend endless hours reviewing scripts and pitching ideas. Unfortunately, his devotion to work comes at a personal cost. His relationship with his son, Christian (Connor Corum) has become especially estranged. When his wife Michelle (Sarah Lancaster) calls him out, his response is that they should get a dog. Lo and behold, a stray dog follows Christian home from school and becomes the family "wonder dog." After their youngest daughter wanders off due to Mitch's carelessness, the family makes a bold move. Mitch gives up his studio job to focus on his writing. The family moves to Colorado to start over. In an attempt to reconnect with Christian and to help him adapt to a new school, Mitch arranges a camping trip and invites a couple of other boys to tag along. The trip takes a dangerous turn when a dangerous storm moves in while their only protection is a thin tent.

My enjoyment of this film hinged on the simple feel-good nature of the story. The star of the movie is a dog, what's not to like? That was enough to get me into the theater for a film I was sure was only mediocre. This film is mediocre, indeed. But I enjoyed it. The plot was based on real life, but I found the climactic part of the story to be anti-climactic. That was the worst aspect of the film to me. There could have been better tension, and the actions following a tragic accident seemed a bit unrealistic. Maybe it is true to life, but I have to wonder if the story unfolded exactly this way. In any event, the story is about a family finding itself again, and in that, the mission was accomplished. In terms of cinematic magic, this was a low budget film that could have given me a bit more excitement at its apex.

The acting was decent enough. Connor Corum did a pretty good job of acting for a youngster. Cassidy and Lancaster held their own, but neither is going to win any awards (real awards) for their performances. The film didn't look excessively low budget, but it could have had better production qualities. The performances were believable, but not exceptional. Basically, middle-of-the-road stuff. Maybe even milquetoast. But oddly enough, I enjoyed the film. Maybe it was the performance of the dog. He was exceptional. The used a beautiful animal for this film.

I can't stand judgmental critics who insert their politics into their critiques. It almost makes me want to overrate this film. But I won't. I will simply rate this film for what it is. It is a faith-based family film. If you are expecting Oscar performances, steer clear. If you don't like faith-based messages, don't watch it. If you like to be entertained and you enjoy a feel-good moralistic story, then this film is probably in your wheelhouse. It is not exceptionally well done, but it is enjoyable. It could have been more exciting, but it's not. It's pretty straightforward. I think the 6.6 that this film has at IMDb is pretty accurate. I'm at 6.5/10.