YOU LUCKY DOG
Friendly Rating: Dog lovers of all ages.
Safety Rating: One damn and some intrusive product placement.
Quality Rating: Uneven, but lots more going for it than not.
Original Hallmark Channel movie premiering tonight at 9 p.m.
This ultimately rather charming movie does start out at the same pace as country life. Lisa Rayborn (Natasha Henstridge) is coming home to her family’s farm for her mother’s funeral after years of living in New York trying to make it as a fashion designer.
At the same time, her brother Jim (Harry Hamlin) is trying to eke out a bit more profit with merino sheep against their father’s wishes. Clay (Lawrence Dane) apparently doesn’t handle change well. Lisa sees the return as an opportunity to re-invent her life, and plunges headlong in the sheep-raising project by adopting a border collie from the shelter and deciding to train the dog (which she names Lucky). There’s a herding competition with a cash prize in the offing, a forest fire – talk about shades of Lassie – and even a love interest.
Like most Hallmark Channel movies, you know where this one is going before the opening credits roll, and as always, it’s the getting there that makes it. True, this is the prettiest farm I’ve ever seen – which, trust me, has no bearing on reality – but it’s also a fantasy and a fun little waste of 90 minutes, with lots of scenes of herd dogs and the sheep. Now, there’s some poetry in motion.
The nice thing, also, is that while there is some conflict between the family members, it isn’t the soul-crushing nastiness you usually see. These people clearly love each other and are more supportive than not of each other, even when they don’t see eye to eye on an issue.
The one jarring note was the product placement at the sheepherding trials. You know it would be there in real life, but it’s still uncomfortably in your face compared to the rest of the film. And, no, I’m not mentioning the dog food in question because they don’t need any more publicity.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and your family’s reaction to the film. The discussion starts… Okay, tomorrow morning after the film.
