There are a lot of movies about dogs, mostly because they are cute and perfect, but also because they are probably a lot cheaper to hire than actual actors. But they always seem to follow a similar narrative: there is a cute pup out there who is lost or stolen and needs to get back home. But Strays boldly asks: what if the dog doesn’t wanna go home because the owner is kind of a jerk?
Strays (not to be confused with The Strays, a Netflix psychological thriller that debuts this month, though the timing is a bit unfortunate) follows a lil pooch named Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) who keeps getting kicked out of the house because his owner (Will Forte) is a bit of a dirtbag. If this movie was about cats, it would have ended there, but dogs are supposedly loyal and all of that.
Reggie then finds his own pooch crew to hang with and realizes that he actually has to get revenge on his owner, because that’s what happens when you are mean to dogs. The movie also features the voices of Jamie Foxx, Randall Park, and Isla Fisher. As per the official description:
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but what if the man is a total dirtbag? In that case, it might be time for some sweet revenge, doggy style. When Reggie a naïve, relentlessly optimistic Border Terrier, is abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, Doug Reggie is certain that his beloved owner would never leave him on purpose.
But once Reggie falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed Boston Terrier named Bug, a stray who loves his freedom and believes that owners are for suckers, Reggie finally realizes he was in a toxic relationship and begins to see Doug for the heartless sleazeball that he is.
Of course, things take a turn: after realizing what a “sleazeball” (dogs know this lingo) his owner is, Reggie becomes determined to bring his former owner down by chowing down on his genitals. This is a dog we are talking about, they don’t have access to weapons or have thumbs or morals probably. What could possibly go wrong here?!
Strays will debut in theaters on June 9th. Check out the trailer above.