‘AJ Goes to the Dog Park’ Is a Surrealist Cartoon Come to Life
DIY cinema is rarely as endearing, creative and stuffed with goofy gags as AJ Goes to the Dog Park. Directed by Toby Jones, this is an anything-goes, no-budget comedy that’s so lo-fi it’s practically underground. And underground is where this cult item will ultimately live, as only viewers attuned to its live-action Looney Tunes sensibility will groove to its boatload of self-referential dialogue, puns and visual gags that come at an impressively dizzying pace.
Such rapid-fire frivolity almost guarantees that some gags will miss their target, but the script’s batting average is impressively high. And even the jokes that elicit a mere smile benefit from AJ Goes to the Dog Park‘s overall lack of sarcasm, cruelty or meanness. Its sincerity and the value it places on old-fashioned silliness don’t feel naïve in these snark-filled times — they feel gosh darn refreshing. AJ‘s gentle lunacy loses its way towards the end, but otherwise leans into its absurdist bent with such conviction and joy that you cannot help but be won over.
