Turner & Hooch (1989)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Rent it

Scott Turner (Hanks) has his life pretty much in order. Everything has a place, and he keeps his house very neat and clean. Not to mention the fact that, as a detective, he's finally going to get to move to a real city and go after some real criminals. However, he meets Hooch (Beasley the Dog), who happens to have witness a murder. Trouble is, the victim was Hooch's owner. Hooch, if you haven't figured it out from the cover art in this review, is a large, slobbery dog. Adopting the dog, Turner's life is turned upside down--but he learns a little bit about himself because of it.

Remember the Hanks from before all the Oscars (both nominations and wins)? You know, Joe Vs. the Volcano? Who wants to? Well, now that this classic Hanks film is on DVD, we don't have to worry about watching a worn-out VHS copy where it's hard to differentiate Turner from Hooch. But anyway, this truly is classic Hanks. You can see him trying to get past Bosom Buddies and his stand-up days, but you can also see the beginnings of what makes him America's hero today. He just knows how to work on screen. He is absolutely present in every moment and his comic timing is superb. The rest of the cast...even Hooch...seem to know that they are there for him in this movie and so they don't let him down. It's just a shame that the movie couldn't have been better. Credit where credit is due, this could not help but turn out as an overly sentimental movie. We all want Hooch to live in the end and not get put to sleep, don't we? (Oh geez, certainly that couldn't be a spoiler now, could it?) However, it remains the kind of movie that you really only want to watch when you happen to catch it halfway through on one of the cable networks.

Unfortunately, this DVD presentation doesn't help that out any. There is not one scrap of bonus material presented. Not that I'm expecting a director's commentary or anything, but maybe some sort of interview with Hanks (whose time has no doubt increased in value by a factor of twenty or more since this movie was made) or anything to help this DVD be a worthwhile purchase. Hell, even an interview with the dog handler would have been something.

Even die-hard Hanks fans will want to give this one a pass; there's just simply not enough here to add it to your collection. But hey, whenever you need that Early Hanks Nostalgia, you can always go rent the thing.