Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

Darling Companion

(2012)

Here we have a perfectly ordinary, predictable but entertaining way to spend an evening. Diane Keaton and her daughter find a stray dog by the side of the road and take him to the vet, and then home, intending to take him to the animal shelter in the morning. But they are told he will certainly be put down. So without really wanting to, especially on the part of Kevin Kline, her surgeon husband, they find themselves with a dog named Freeway. A year later, of course, he’s a beloved part of the household, and when he wanders away from a wedding reception (the daughter and the vet), Diane goes bugfuck. They search obsessively for a long time, but in the end they have to give up. They board a small passenger plane, and out the window she spies the dog. Nothing here will surprise you, but considering the bulk of the things I’m seeing for rent at Redbox, I’d have to say it’s miles better than that dreck.