DIY cinema is rarely as endearing, creative and stuffed with goofy gags asAJ Goes to the Dog Park. Directed by Toby Jones, this is an anything-goes, no-budget comedy that’s so lo-fi it’s practically underground. And underground is where this cult item will ultimately live, as only viewers attuned to its live-actionLooney Tunessensibility will groove to its boatload of self-referential dialogue, puns and visual gags that come at an impressively dizzying pace.
Such rapid-fire frivolity almost guarantees that some gags will miss their target, but the script’s batting average is impressively high. And even the jokes that elicit a mere smile benefit fromAJ Goes to the Dog Park’s overall lack of sarcasm, cruelty or meanness. Its sincerity and the value it places on old-fashioned silliness don’t feel naïve in these snark-filled times — they feel gosh darn refreshing.AJ’s gentle lunacy loses its way towards the end, but otherwise leans into its absurdist bent with such conviction and joy that you cannot help but be won over.
AJ Goes to the Dog Park
Jones is a veteran of the (beer and bong) hit animated cable seriesRegular Showand the fairly delightfulOK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes. Applying his Cartoon Network aesthetic to the real world would seem limiting, but Jones' lack of concern about whether a gag looks cheap is intentional. This results in some of the film’s heartiest laughs: characters are prone to flying off the screen as a flesh-and-blood person, then hitting the ground as a blow-up doll, while dogs go from real to stuffed and back again in the same scene.
So Many Jokes in So Little Time
What’s almost as impressive as the number of jokes that Jones crams into 79 minutes is that he manages to fashion a decent-enough story around them. It begins when AJ takes his chihuahuas, Diddy and Biff, to his beloved local dog park, only to discover that the Mayor (Crystal Cossette Knight) has turned it into a Blog Park, with rows of bloggers sitting at desks and typing on computers. AJ figures he can live without the park, as long as the rest of his perfectly routine existence stays the same. But his life continues falling apart when his best friends announce they’re moving away, his YouTube access is blocked and the government issues a recall on his favorite breakfast, buttered toast. Now the only way for AJ to get his blissfully boring life back is to unseat the mayor.
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Rarely has it been easier to ignore a film’s shortcomings, mostly becauseAJembraces them so thoroughly that they become immune to criticism. The acting here is often laughably stilted, and DP Tucker Lucas seems satisfied to just plop the camera down and let the silliness unfold within a static frame. The composers, credited here as Secret Series, contribute some peppy cues, although they often accentuate a joke with a cheap and cheesy music sting. But all that becomes secondary to the film’s winking absurdism, which recalls 1980’sAirplane!and Adult Swim’sTim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
The Story Makes No Sense, But Who Cares?
Jones bends his story in ways that make little sense, but set up the jokes that will assuredly follow. In order to become the mayor of Fargo, AJ will have to beat the current mayor in fighting, fishing, scrapping, scraping and sapping. These random activities open up comedic possibilities that Jones exploits in silly and surprising ways: To beat the mayor in fighting, for example, a wrestling coach (Jason Ehlert) whose only formal education was learning the history and science of hazelnuts teaches AJ how to fight with only his elbows. Later, AJ learns to be better than the mayor at fishing with the help of a crusty sea captain (Jacob Hartje).
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AJ Goes to the Dog Parkwas shot on location in Fargo on nights and weekends during a three-year period, and the city’s bland Midwestern look is an appropriately blank canvas upon which to throw as many gags as possible. If you squint hard enough, there’s something to be gleaned here about government abuse of power and the victories that await when going outside your comfort zone. But really, everything exists to support the comedy.
And unlikeHundreds of Beavers, a fantastically clever achievement ruined by excessive length, Jones’ film risks overstaying its welcome only during its frantic ending. Otherwise, it’s a gushing fountain of elevated dad jokes aimed at a crowd that would normally roll their eyes at such silly humor. It’s so winningly daft that it makes you want to see Jones operate on a bigger budget and with a more accomplished cast — even if it wouldn’t have the puppy-dog charm ofAJ Goes to the Dog Park.
AJ Goes to the Dog Parkopens in limited release on July 25 from Doppelgänger Releasing.
