K-9: P.I. DVD: Review By bcloutier

The year is 1989, the multiplex cinemas of the U.S. are housing some classic movies of the 80's. The Abyss, Adventures in Babysitting, Beetlejuice, the list could go on. In addition there was a whole slew of films featuring dogs in one form or another. Turner and Hooch which starred Tom Hanks and a dog, All Dogs go to Heaven, Which featured Burt Reynolds as a cartoon dog, and K-9 which starred James Belushi and a dog and at the time seemed like a rip off of the Tom Hanks flick.

Flash forward to 2002. Upon checking the daily mail and opening a brown paper package from the Lights Out home office I found to my surprise that Mr. Belushi and his canine pal were stilla it 13 years after the whole thing started. K-9 P.I.is the third installment in the story of Dooley and Jerry Lee.

The story is a simple one. Dooley and Jerry Lee are on the verge of retirement from the police force and they have to solve one last crime before they ride, or walk, off into the sunset together. Dooley has left the force to become a private investigator and is operating his own little P.I. service with his best friend Jerry Lee the German Shepard. There is however a twist, it seems that the reason they had to become P.I. is that they are being accused by the FBI of robbing a jewelry store on the night before they were set to retire from the force. What I find amazing is that the previous direct-to-video installment K-911 did a rather large amount of business and actually wasn't half bad. And it looks as though this third installment is going to be just as successful.

The story is solid. Jim Belushi does his normal excellent job as the grizzled Dooley. And the dog isn't half bad either. Obviously it isn't high art, and it does feel a bit forced at times but overall the film is fun and worth watching.

Technically the disk is solid. The film is presented in Anamorphic 16x9. And the picture is clear and crisp. Sound wise we are given the standard option stereo, but no Dolby surround. Though its always nice to have Dolby 5.1 the practice of leaving it off is fairly normal for a straight to video release and is perfectly alright since it really wouldn't enhance the movie experience.

Okay the other thing that is fairly standard with straight to video releases is that you don't get much in the way of DVD extra features. There are however a few and they are worth noting.

The first is the obligatory cast and crew biographies section. The best part about this is looking back over Jim Belushi's career and seeing some of the work he's done. There are several "Oh I forgot about that movie, I loved it" moments in his past.

The other feature we have on the DVD is a behind-the-scenes "Making of featurette. Its fun to watch. What is also interesting to see is that people making what they know is a straight to video film don't take their jobs any less seriously than they do on big budget marquee films.

Onyl two, but on a release like this thats pretty much all you need.

The final word on this DVD is "good". I think its a solid little movie that is fun to watch and would be an excellent addition to the "Family" section of your DVD collection. If you have kids, or a soft spot for fun family movies, then on July 30th when this bad boy hits the store shelves I highly recommend you pick it up on the way home!