Stometer
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Loui Blair
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Brenda19138
The title doesn't actually fit the movie in my opinion. The movie teaches a lot such as the root for not a thing is nothing and many others. The lead character is not at all shy and hates everything and everyone except his wife and Amy. Sometimes I think though that Ms. Wright-Penn is going to burst a vein in her neck from arguing with him. After a half hour you get tired of listening to him belly-ache and just want him to start being more like his mother in law! Which is quiet. It is chuck full of quick witted material though. But it doesn't deserve 3 stars from TV Guide when movies such as The Break-Up only rates 2. Are you kidding me, TV Guide rating people? Just because an actor has an accent doesn't mean he deserves a 3 star rating.
bold1
We caught this film on cable last week and were shocked. No, not by the title - but how did we not hear about this movie? I'll say upfront, I'm not a Branagh fan, but I do love Robin Wright Penn. But Branagh blew me away with this performance - he's finally been given a great script by someone other than Shakespeare and run with it. The writing is smart and funny, the supporting cast is just terrific, especially the girl playing Amy. When I checked here, I saw the writer/director is the same guy who wrote Private Parts, one of my favorite films.If I try and put my finger on what touched me the most in this movie, I guess it's that the people were all so "real" and so I ended up caring very much what happened to them all. I'd love a sequel to see what happens to them after this episode in their lives!Who should see this film: Everyone who likes smart, funny writing and acting told in an adult way; and anyone who likes something other than the typical Hollywood blockbuster.
TxMike
some SPOILERS contained"How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog" is a low-budget independent film that had its largest audiences at various film festivals. Branaugh and Penn give fine performances. He is the jaded writer who had greater success "a few years back" and seems to be looking for a muse. Penn is his steady, understanding wife and she plays it perfectly. He is writing a play and the film cuts to rehearsals now and then, and it is clear that the muse is still lurking but not present.Things change when a small girl with a bad leg moves in next door with her single mother. At first Branaugh wants nothing to do with her, as he has thus far also avoided fatherhood. But the little girl grows on him, through her he learns how children really express themselves, his writing improves, she has become not only his muse but also shows him the joy of sharing your life with a child. The overprotective mother takes her child away when she thinks the dance Penn taught her was too strenuous, the mother and father reconcile, it is a sad scene when the little girl must leave. There is a side story, a vagrant aspiring writer stalks then befriends Branaugh, he and Penn hear a shot at night, go out to find a dead dog in their yard.DVD is very basic, no extras, no surround sound, but adequate. Not a great film but nonetheless very entertaining, my wife and I thought. Robin Wright Penn has become one of the better, understated female actors of modern times.
gkmt50
My dad bought this at Blockbuster for a few dollars, as a previously viewed DVD. He highly recommended it to me, and amazingly enough, dad was right! This movie was hilarious. You may find yourself laughing so much you have to backup to catch the other funny parts you were laughing too loud to hear :)I agree with the commentator above who suggested this movie in lieu of a sappy romantic comedy.
