How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (Mad Dogs & Englishmen) (2000)
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59% of critics liked it
(32 reviews) -
67% of users liked it
(1,396 ratings)
Somewhere in L.A., Peter (Kenneth Branagh), a washed-up British playwright, struggles to duplicate his past glory as he surfs a foul-smelling tide of disenchantment. His wife, Melanie (Robin Wright Penn), manages to maintain an optimistic outlook even as she longs for the baby that her husband is… More Somewhere in L.A., Peter (Kenneth Branagh), a washed-up British playwright, struggles to duplicate his past glory as he surfs a foul-smelling tide of disenchantment. His wife, Melanie (Robin Wright Penn), manages to maintain an optimistic outlook even as she longs for the baby that her husband is hesitant to help her conceive. When Peter befriends Amy (Suzi Hofrichter), a neighborhood girl who has mild cerebral palsy, their friendship softens him to the idea of fatherhood and propels Melanie's maternal yearnings into hyperdrive. As if baby fever weren't enough, Peter is plagued by a seemingly benevolent stalker (Jared Harris), his neighbors' incessantly noisy dog, and the flighty cast and crew of his latest play. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Directed By
- Michael Kalesniko
- Written By
- Michael Kalesniko
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- Feb 1, 2002 Wide
- Studio
- Artistic License
Critic Reviews
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Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
Has an unusually high ratio of laughs per minute.
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Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Falsehoods pile up, undermining the movie's reality and stifling its creator's comic voice.
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Gene Seymour, Newsday
Kenneth Branagh's energetic sweet-and-sour performance as a curmudgeonly British playwright grounds this overstuffed, erratic dramedy in which he and his improbably forbearing wife contend with craziness and child-rearing in Los Angeles.
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Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
... comes alive only when it switches gears to the sentimental.
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Stephen Holden, New York Times
Audiences conditioned to getting weepy over saucer-eyed, downy-cheeked moppets and their empathetic caretakers will probably feel emotionally cheated by the film's tart, sugar-free wit.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Kenneth Branagh
as Peter McGowen
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Jared Harris
as Pete
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Lynn Redgrave
as Edna
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Peter Riegert
as Larry
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Johnathon Schaech
as Adam
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Robin Wright
as Melanie
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Michael Benyaer
as Father Neighbor
