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Strays (2023 film)

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American film by Josh Greenbaum
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Strays (2023 film)
Strays (2023 film)

Strays is a 2023 American comedy film directed by Josh Greenbaum and written by Dan Perrault. It follows an abandoned dog (voiced by Will Ferrell) who teams up with several strays (voiced by Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, and Randall Park) to get revenge on his abusive owner (Will Forte). The film also stars Harvey Guillén, Rob Riggle, Brett Gelman, Jamie Demetriou, Josh Gad, and Sofía Vergara.

Strays was theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on August 18, 2023. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $36 million.

Plot

Reggie is a naive Border Terrier who lives with his abusive owner Doug, who only keeps him around to spite his ex-girlfriend. When Reggie inadvertently destroys Doug's bong, Doug makes several attempts to ditch Reggie, which Reggie views as a game. Losing track of Doug in the city three hours away, Reggie meets a street-wise dog named Bug who teaches him how to be a stray after he defends him from a Rottweiler and a Dobermann. After a night with Bug and his friends, an Australian Shepherd named Maggie and a therapy Great Dane named Hunter, Reggie finally realizes that Doug does not love him. He decides to get revenge by biting off Doug's penis, and the other strays accompany him for support. However, as Reggie has never been that far from Doug before, they are forced to rely on landmarks he saw, including a "large hamster ball" (a carnival ferris wheel), a "giant cone" (a hill), and "the Devil in the Sky" (a picture of a postman on a billboard).

During the journey, the group bonds as they get into several scuffles, culminating in capture by animal control after a hallucinogenic mushroom-induced high causes them to maul a family of rabbits, which they mistake for plushies. During their captivity, Bug admits that he was in a family of his own but was forced to escape when they tried to euthanize him after he bit the daughter (though he fails to see exactly what he did wrong). In an attempt to escape, the dogs plan to use Hunter's erect penis to hook the kennel keys but are unsuccessful. Then in another attempt to escape, Reggie suggests that every dog defecate on the floor at the same time so when the security guard opens the door, he will slip on the feces and fall down, which enables their escape. Reggie convinces himself that he is to blame for Doug treating him poorly. This causes Bug to urinate on Reggie's bandana in a fit of anger and Reggie leaves the other strays. Making their way back to the city, Bug, Maggie, and Hunter stumble upon the lost girl scout Riley Anderson, and alert a search and rescue worker to her location.

Reggie returns to Doug's house, and after reminiscing about all the times Doug mistreated him, he finally sees the reality. However, an enraged Doug prevents Reggie from leaving and attempts to kill him while making explicit that he never even once cared about Reggie. In the nick of time, the other strays break in. With their help, Reggie successfully bites Doug's penis off. Hunter also defecates in Doug's mouth, and during the altercation, Doug's house and pickup truck are burned down by an electrical pole that falls and starts a fire. As the crowd gathers to see a wounded Doug collapse, the strays leave the area.

Afterwards, Hunter returns to being a therapy dog and starts a relationship with Maggie, the latter begins training as a police dog, Riley adopts Bug, and Reggie remains a stray and chooses to guide new strays, though still often spends time with the other dogs.

In a mid-credits scene, Doug is in the hospital recovering from his injuries. The doctor comes in and tells Doug that they can not reattach his penis, much to his horror and anger.

Cast

  • Will Forte as Doug, a selfish deadbeat man and Reggie's former owner
  • Brett Gelman as Willy, an animal control officer
  • Dan Perrault as Dr. Hagen, a doctor seen in the mid-credits scene
  • Dennis Quaid as a birdwatcher
  • Mikayla Rousseau as Riley Anderson, a lost girl scout in the forest
  • Jade Fernandez as Ashley, Doug's ex-girlfriend

Voices

Production

In August 2019, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller signed a first-look deal with Universal Pictures.[9] In May 2021, Universal acquired the rights to Strays, an adult comedy film about dogs written by Dan Perrault, with Lord and Miller attached to produce alongside Erik Feig and Louis Leterrier. The film is a co-production between Picturestart and Rabbit Hole Productions.[10] Filming began in September 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.[11][12][13] Production concluded by December 2021.[5]

Release

Strays was theatrically released in the United States on August 18, 2023, after being delayed from its original June 9, 2023 date.[3][14][15] It was released on digital platforms on September 5, 2023, followed by DVD and Blu-ray releases on October 10, 2023.[16]

Reception

Box office

As of October 19, 2023, Strays has grossed $24 million in the United States and Canada, and $12 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $36 million.[3][4]

In the United States and Canada, Strays was released alongside Blue Beetle, and was initially projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,223 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] After making $3.4 million on its first day (including $1.1 million from Thursday night previews), weekend estimates were lowered to $8.5 million. It went on to debut to $8.3 million, finishing in fourth.[17][18] The film made $4.9 million in its second weekend (a drop of 40%), finishing in sixth.[19]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 54% of 175 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "Crudely effective and effectively crude, Strays is more amusing than hilarious, but this comedy's scattershot humor is partly offset by its surprisingly big heart."[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[21] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[17]

Glenn Kenny of The New York Times stated that "over the next 90-plus minutes, the canines drop as many F-bombs as Pacino did in Scarface. Then there are the scatological jokes, each one more outlandish than the last, none bearing the slightest tinge of wit or joy."[22] Samantha Bergeson of IndieWire gave the film a "C", explaining that "it's absurd, it's existential, and it's glorious. Strays is The House That Jack Built meets Cats & Dogs, with the plot of Homeward Bound, turned violent."[23] In a 3 out of 5 review, Ed Potton of The Times said that "at its best, this crude comedy does for dog movies what Bad Santa did for Christmas films and Sausage Party did for kids' animation, dragging them through the gutter and rolling them in filth, sometimes literally.[24] John Nugent of Empire gave it a 3 out of 5 rating, describing it as "an exuberantly bad-taste ode to our poochy pals. Dumb & Dumber, but for dogs.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Strays". Irish Film Classification Office. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Rubin, Rebecca (August 16, 2023). "'Blue Beetle' Aims to End 'Barbie's' Box Office Reign With $30 Million Debut". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Strays (2023)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Strays (2023)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Kit, Borys (December 7, 2021). "Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Will Forte Starring in Universal Comedy Strays (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 15, 2022). "Isla Fisher Joins Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx in Strays (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  7. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 4, 2022). "Randall Park Joins Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx in Universal Comedy Strays (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 2, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Rourke, Ryan (February 8, 2023). "First 'Strays' Trailer: Will Ferrell Is an Abandoned Pup Ready to Bite Back". Collider. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (August 2, 2019). "Phil Lord, Chris Miller Set First-Look Deal With Universal". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  10. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (May 27, 2021). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Picturestart Set Live-Action Comedy Strays at Universal (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – Strays". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  12. ↑ Seiler, Zoe (September 21, 2021). "Production for feature film will take place in Kirkwood Sept. 20-25". Decaturish. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  13. ↑ Ho, Rodney (September 15, 2021). "What's filming in Georgia in September?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  14. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (May 8, 2023). "Universal Moves 'Strays' to August as 'Please Don't Destroy' Comedy Pivots to Peacock". TheWrap. Archived from the original on June 2, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  15. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 15, 2022). "Strays: Universal Dates Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx & Will Forte Comedy For Summer 2023". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Strays Digital Release Date Confirmed". When To Stream. August 29, 2023. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  17. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 20, 2023). "'Blue Beetle' Still Eyes $25M; 'Strays' Goes To The Dogs With $8M+ – Saturday Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
  18. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (August 20, 2023). "Box Office: 'Blue Beetle' Stumbles With $25 Million Debut, Ends 'Barbie's' Four-Week Streak". Variety. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  19. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 27, 2023). "'Gran Turismo' & 'Barbie' Bumping Heads With $17M+ Each This Weekend; Doll Leading National Cinema Day Early Admissions – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 28, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Strays". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 3, 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  21. ↑ "Strays". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  22. ↑ "'Strays' Review: A Raunchy Comedy Goes to the Dogs".
  23. ↑ "'Strays' Review: Jamie Foxx and Will Ferrell Bring Heart to a Ruff Script About Trash-Talking Canines".
  24. ↑ "Strays review — beware of this dog comedy, it's a ruff ride".
  25. ↑ "Strays Review". Empire. August 17, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2026.