What a witness!

After re watching the film Turner and Hooch I felt it was time I gave it a review...

Scott Turner is a small town cop who has his sights on moving to his new job in a big city. He spends his days training his replacement and dealing with mundane cases such as bike theft. Scott is called to investigate claims of noisy neighbour by old Amos who lives in the docks next to a factory he suspects is doing dodgy deals. Scott goes to talk to Amos but first he has to deal with the dog. Hooch is a massive dog who looks vicious and constantly drools.

Scott talks with Amos and finally leaves, that is after the dog has attacked him and pinned him to the floor. His partner thinks this is hilarious but is about o change his mind when Amos gets killed and Hooch becomes the property of Scott as he is a witness.

Scott takes Hooch home and soon discovers his perfect house is not suitable for a dog and they come to blows. Hooch is curious and as a result trashes the house and Scott goes mad.

Can Scott and Hooch learnt o live together and can Hooch help him solves the case of how killed Amos?

I have seen this film several times over the years and have always enjoyed it a lot. I find the story is very good and is actually quite believable. I think the story works so well as Hooch is just so lovable and Tom Hanks works very well with him. The story is slightly predictable but the ending did come as a shock to me the first time I ever watched this and I did think it was rather sad but over the years I have come to realise how feel good the ending actually is.

The lead role of Scott Turner is played by Tom Hanks and for me he is the perfect choice/ He manages to bring the character to life and I love how perfect he comes across. He deals with the upheaval of getting Hooch in a very fun way and this makes for some good fun viewing. I did think he managed to show a very good bond with Hooch and they seemed very at ease on screen together. He managed to deliver all of his lines with ease and I really cannot fault his character in the slightest. If I did have to pick him up on something then it would be his choice of underwear, as we do get several scenes of him just in his pants and they are not exactly nice ones. Hooch was amazing and so well trained. He really came to life and I did start to think of him as human with some of the expressions he pulled and the way he understood what was being told to him. He looked so cute and cuddly despite his size and even the drooling was overlooked by me after the first half of the film. Hooch bought a lot of comedy into the film and for me he was the real star of the film.

We do have a few good support roles in the film and some of the actors included, Mare Winningham, Craig T Nelson and John McIntire. I felt they all played very diverse and different characters and this did give the film some depth.

The film was made back in 1989 and this is very apparent right from the start of the film. We have a distinct lack of technology and the clothes are very fitting for the year. I found the setting for the film was very good and worked well with the story. Despite this being an old film it certainly stands its ground in today’s market. We do have some special effects in the film and they are well made and produced and I felt they fitted effortlessly into the film.

The one thing which I think could have been slightly improved on in the film was the soundtrack. We had a lot of massive hits back in this decade and I felt a few more of them could have been used in this film for the more memorable scenes. I did enjoy the soundtrack we had and felt it was good but a few more big songs would have made it perfect.

There is a lot of humour in the film but this does not take away from the serious side of the story. The humour mainly comes from Tuner and Hooch, they have an excellent connection on screen and this adds to the humour and the fact they do not get on well at the start. I felt Hooch was able to make me chuckle from the noises he would make and the facial expressions he gave us. He did an amazing job at making both me and hubby laugh with very little effort as he seemed so natural when doing this.

This is a film only review so there are no bonus features to speak about. The running time of the film is 97 minutes and I felt this was a good length with the story moving at a good pace from start to finish. The rate is a PG and I do agree with this. There are some nasty scenes for the very young viewer, involving murder and mild threat but I think children over the age of 7 would love this film and easily be able to follow the story. The DVD can be bought for just a few pounds now from online shops and I do think it is worth this price tag.

I am more than happy to give this film a good solid 4 stars. The story is very good and so to is the acting. I felt Hooch was amazing from start to finish in t he film and he made this film the hit it really was. It is old so the fashions are dated but the film is able to stand up to today’s market. Well worth watching even if you are not a dog lover.