I love movies about dogs. Watching them always makes me feel all warm and cuddly inside. I used to watch “Lassie” as a kid. I can still remember when I saw the first “Benji” movie many, many years ago. Every time a new sequel came out, I’d make my parents take me to see them and we’d all share a collective ‘Awwwwwwww’ at the appropriate cute and fluffy moments. Of course, there are also films like “Old Yeller” that make me cry just to think about them. No matter what, I can generally expect a movie about a dog to elicit some kind of heart-tugging emotion. Back in 2002, when I had the opportunity to review an Independent Film by director Steve Cuden called “Lucky”, I knew I’d be in for a real treat. After all, I heard the film was about a cartoon writer and his relationship with a cute little pooch (appropriately named Lucky) he accidentally hits with his car. And to top it all off, the dog can talk. I thought to myself, “Boy, this ought to be a real tear jerker. What better type of film to watch with the kiddies, right?” Wrong. Oh, wrong, wrong, wrong.

“Lucky” is definitely NOT for the kids. It’s full of sick, twisted, demented, psychotic, murderous visual imagery and behaviour. Despite the happy go ‘lucky’ title, the film is neither cute nor fluffy. “Benji” it is not.

That said (and believe me it’s important that I said it), I’m hard-pressed to say who it IS for. I would have to be a bit more introspective and appeal to those who are like me. This is simply because I (without hesitation) have to admit LOVING every sick, twisted, demented, psychotic, murderous minute of it.

Not to go into too much detail, the film focuses on cartoon writer Millard Mudd (Michael Emanuel), who is in the middle of one of the worst cases of writer’s block ever. He deals with the stress and anxiety of impatient agents and deadlines the way most of us would. He turns to the bottle. Actually, this is somewhat of an understatement as ‘bottles’ is more like it. On one of his nightly trips to the liquor store he accidentally runs over a dog. He takes the dog home and seemingly nurses it back to health.

Once Lucky is back on his feet (paws?), Mudd learns this is no ordinary pup, as do we, when the dog starts talking. After the initial shock and disbelief, Mudd’s luck starts to turn around. He gains a girlfriend and with Lucky as his muse, begins writing like never before. He could even be referred to as prolific. Wow, it kind of sounds like a really happy little film doesn’t it. Believe me, it doesn’t stay that way. It gets dark. I mean really dark. We’re talking serial killing kind of dark.

When I originally reviewed “Lucky”, I actually had a difficult time describing why I loved it so much. Why it was that I laughed my fool head off throughout most of the film. Granted, my personality is such that I can laugh at just about anything, but it seemed that many of my friends just shook their heads when they heard me go on about what a terrifically compelling movie it was. Some of whom I’ve shown it to felt it went a little too far over the edge and left little to laugh at.

I tried to explain to them that “Lucky” is dark humor in its purest form. It doesn’t elicit the same kind of laughter that an Eddie Murphy film might elicit (okay, one of those rare funny Eddie Murphy movies). This was more of an uncomfortable laughter. I actually felt a little guilty laughing at some of the scenes. After letting out a loud “HA”, I’d look around the room nervously, hoping no one heard me and think I was a sicko. I think you get the idea.

Going beyond the subject matter of the film, I have to turn to the technical aspects. After all, it is an Independent Film and one of the shortfalls that some people have a hard time getting past is the inherent low-budget ‘look’ most are saddled with. Not so with “Lucky.” Looking at the quality of the production, one would have a hard time believing it was shot in just nine days. It is extremely professional looking, with quick clean edits that pace the story just right to keep viewers riveted to the screen.

I was extremely impressed with Cuden’s abilities as a director. There were no extraneous scenes, and he was able to deftly balance the thin line between what was real and what was only in Mudd’s mind. I consider this to be one of the film’s strongest points as it left the viewer wondering if any of the events actually happened within the context of the story, or if it was all in the mind of an insane cartoon writer.

Speaking of insane cartoon writers, Cuden it should be noted that Cuden is also a very successful screenwriter credited on more than seventy teleplays, including series such as "X-Men," "Starship Troopers," "The Mask," and many others. He is also co-creator of the international hit musical “Jekyll & Hyde.” Hmmm, seems a little ironic doesn’t it? I think I’d be a little more worried if he had written this particular screenplay.

That particular credit falls squarely on the shoulders of Stephen Sustarsic, who happens to be an Emmy Award winning writer who has written for such shows as "The Jeffersons," "One Day At A Time," "Alice," and "Newhart” just to name a few. He's also created several TV shows, including the long running Nickelodeon series "The Wild Thornberrys."

I would be hard-pressed not to mention the amazing performance by Michael Emanuel. Admittedly, I had never heard of the guy, but as soon as I saw his face I knew I had seen him somewhere before. Turns out he’s had a tremendous career in commercials as well as guest-spots on numerous TV shows. Since I first saw this movie a year and a half ago, I think I’ve noticed him almost daily on one commercial or another. Carrying the entire movie falls on his shoulders, and he bears the weight admirably. His performance is note-perfect, and as frightening a figure as he can become in the film, he has a certain affability that makes you like the big lug even when he’s scaring you half to death.

“Lucky” has been a film festival favorite since its debut in 2002, and has won numerous well-deserved awards including Best Feature Awards from the New York City Horror Film Festival and the MicroCinefest, as well as Best Director nods from the NoDance Film Festival and the B-Movie Theater Film Fest.

I first caught the film on video and was really happy to see that it was finally getting an official DVD release from MTI / Redrum Entertainment. They did a really good job on the transfer as the finished product looked much better than the video.

Sadly, there aren’t really many extras to be had in this release. There is only a Director’s Commentary, which was not available on the advance copy I had of the DVD. I’ve spoken with Steve Cuden on a number of occasions and I expect the commentary will be quite entertaining. I’ll do an update of this review once I have the opportunity to hear the commentary and I’ll let you know how it turned out.

All in all I have to say “Lucky” is a great film, but certainly isn’t for everyone. There are several sadistic scenes that push the envelope in terms of adult content, and if you’ve been force fed mainstream Hollywood pabulum all your life, you may not have the mental facilities to appreciate the type of dark humor presented here. However, if you are like me and can the film for what it is I can guarantee you a really good (though somewhat perverse) time.

Directed by: Steve Cuden
Starring: Michael Emanuel, Piper Cochrane, David Reivers (voice of Lucky), Jillian Bach, Carrie Barton, Dianne Cohn, Francis Kelly, Cheryl Francis Harrington
Extras: Director’s Commentary
Specifications: Widescreen
Studio: MTI / Redrum Entertainment
Release Date: 1/13/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (Strong Sexual Content Including Aberrant Behavior, Violence and Language)
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We'll give Lucky an A.