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. A film by Josh Greenbaum, featuring the voices of Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Harvey Guillén, Rob Riggle, Brett Gelman, Jamie Demetriou, Josh Gad, Greta Lee, and Sofía Vergara.

The story follows Border Terrier Reggie (Will Ferrell), a delusional optimist who has been abandoned multiple times by his terrible owner, Doug (Will Forte). Doug only keeps Reggie because his ex-girlfriend wanted to take him with her. Reggie is oblivious to Doug’s cruelty and continues to love him unconditionally.

Doug’s final attempt to abandon Reggie succeeds. He drops the dog in a city so far from home that Reggie is unable to find his way back. Reggie encounters several stray animals in the dark alley at night and gets himself into trouble. Fortunately, he is rescued by the street-wise Boston Terrier Bug (Jamie Foxx), who takes him under his wing and teaches him how to survive on the streets.

Bug introduces Reggie to his friends, an Australian Shepherd named Maggie (Isla Fisher) and a therapy Great Dane named Hunter (Randall Park). They listen to Reggie’s story and explain to him that his owner is not a good human being. They tell him that Reggie’s owner has been abusing him, and that Reggie’s misinterpretations of his awful treatments as an action of endearment are a result of this abuse.

Reggie realizes that Doug is a truly malevolent individual, so he decides go back to Doug’s in order to get revenge by biting Doug’s penis off. Bug, Maggie, and Hunter agrees to help Reggie find his way back home, even though they have only vague descriptions of the landmarks along the way: an enormous hamster wheel, a giant cone, and the devil in the sky.

Strays is a generic road trip movie about a group of dogs. The script is unremarkable and the attempts at humor fall flat. It is unclear who the target audience is. On the one hand, the film features cute dogs, which could appeal to children. On the other hand, the film is rated R for its pervasive language, crude and sexual content, and drug use. It is also difficult to imagine why adults would want to watch a film about dogs speaking in profanity, urinating and defecating, or squirrels having sex.

I estimate there are more than 100 uses of the “F” word in the 90-minute runtime. The scene in which the rabbits are mutilated is indeed disturbing and difficult to watch. The graphic violence is gratuitous and serves no purpose to the story. It is likely to upset and traumatize viewers, especially those who are sensitive to animal cruelty.

My favorite scene is when the narrator dog reflects on how pleased his owner is to finally find the special girl, just like in a romantic comedy. However, it is eventually revealed that his owner is a serial killer with three bodies buried in the backyard.

Strays was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on 18 August 2023. Despite grossing over $32 million worldwide, the film is considered a flop due to its $46 million production budget.