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YEAR OF THE DOG As someone who's been blessed with the company of canines for my entire life, I sat through Year of the Dog seriously wondering if writer-director Mike White has ever owned a pet in his entire life. A grotesque film from a normally accomplished scripter (The Good Girl, Chuck & Buck) also making his directorial debut, this dud is so confused in its intention and execution that it's difficult to know where to begin. Molly Shannon (just fine) plays Peggy, a lonely secretary who finds comfort in the loving paws of her new beagle puppy, Pencil. But Peggy's irresponsibility leads to the dog's death, thus beginning a personal odyssey in which she becomes a vegan and an ardent animal rights supporter. Mostly peopled by caricatures of all stripes, this insufferable film does more harm than good by playing up the stereotype of the foaming-at-the-mouth, bleeding-heart, PETA-supporting loony, and even at the end, White never makes enough of a distinction between being deeply committed to a cause and merely worthy of being committed to an institution. (And for those who have no problem with Peggy's actions: Pretend she's, say, an anti-abortion advocate and see if you still support all of her firebrand methods.) To be fair, many scribes have lavishly praised Year of the Dog, presumably because it's not a cookie-cutter motion picture but instead comes across as something clearly out of the ordinary. Well, yeah, I suppose it is. Then again, elephantiasis of the testicles is also out of the ordinary, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, either. *

OPENS FRIDAY, MAY 4:

AFTER THE WEDDING: Mads Mikkelsen, Rolf Lassgard.

LUCKY YOU: Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore.

SPIDER-MAN 3: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst.

THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney.