If you like dogs, or any animal, really, may I please recommend Mike White's film Year of the Dog. I heard it was Mike White's apology for not being vegan. Anyway, it's a sweet story of Peggy (Molly Shannon) and her beloved dog, Pencil. When Pencil dies unexpectedly, Peggy's life takes many other unexpected turns: she gets into animal rights, goes vegan, and starts saving animals left and right. Those of us who are already will likely identify with Peggy during scenes with her uncomprehending family, and her coworkers who are afraid to eat her vegan cupcakes. Those who aren't yet vegan will appreciate the humor and humility of the film--it's not preachy, I swear!
It does seem, though, that Peggy goes through a bit of everything, almost becoming a hoarder and the stereotypical "crazy dog lady" at one point, but that's not necessarily a low point: we do see that hoarding is wrong and that we need to only take in as many companion animals as we can care for.
And anyway, with a writer/director like Mike White, and actors like Molly Shannon, Laura Dern, Peter Sarsgaard, and John C. Reilly (who walked out of a stupid Lars Von Trier film in protest over a donkey being killed on set), you can't go wrong!
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