"Show Dogs" (PG, 1:32) is an action-adventure comedy which was directed by Raja Gosnell, who has two Smurfs movies, two Scooby-Doo movies, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", "Big Momma's House" and "Never Been Kissed" on his resume. The film was written by Max Botkin ("What Happened to Monday") and Marc Hyman ("Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted", "How to Train Your Dragon") and produced using a combination of live action and CGI. It has, unfortunately, also been the subject of some controversy. Some people have interpreted one canine character's struggle to learn how to deal with being handled during competition as some secret message teaching children to accept fondling. This minor subplot could also be interpreted as encouraging men not to be afraid of prostate exams. Or maybe it's just a relevant plot point for an alpha dog preparing to be in his first dog show. Either way, the rest of this review will ignore the controversy and talk about the movie, which is more than a bad press magnet.

Max (voiced by Ludacris) is a Rottweiler working as a tough-as-nails NYC police dog. Max is tracking some rare animal smugglers when he runs into Frank (Will Arnett),an FBI agent working on the same case. Max's human supervisor convinces a reluctant Frank to work with Max on their joint venture. The two new partners develop a love-hate relationship as they follow the clues to Las Vegas, where they believe an international dog show there is being used as a front by the animal traffickers. A dog groomer named Mattie (Natasha Lyonne) works with Frank as he poses as a dog handler participating in the competition. Of course, Max is forced to endure the indignities of a primped pooch paraded about during the various challenges in the dog show as he does his own undercover work. Along the way, Max gets help from an unhinged former champion named Dante (Alan Cumming) and a fellow participant named Daisy (Jordin Sparks). RuPaul, Gabriel Iglesias, Shaquille O'Neal and Stanley Tucci also voice CGI dogs, while Anders Holm, Blake Anderson and Kate Micucci voice a trio of pigeons who are fans of Max.

"Show Dogs" is cute, clever, comedic and compassionate. Sure, this movie could be seen as just another man and mutt police pairing, in the vein of "Turner and Hooch" and "K9" (both from 1989),or a hairy rehash of 2000's "Miss Congeniality", but those comparisons really do a disservice to this delightful comedy. The story is simple enough for most kids to follow, but involved enough to hold the interest of most adults. The voice work is great and the performances and plot combine to make for a very enjoyable (mostly) family-friendly film. "A-"

If you are a dog owner or had one in the past, you can relate to the collage of canines presented in the comedy "Show Dogs." This Raja Gosnell-directed film is a light-hearted delight showcasing the poochy world of man's best friends communicating amongst themselves. The plot is a little thin, and the wackiness could be amped slightly higher, but scriptwriters Max Botkin and Marc Hyman have supplied enough jokes to keep a smile on the viewer's face throughout. Ideal for the entire family, SD is a film that even mom and dad can enjoy with the kids, which is rare in today's movie theaters.

Will Arnett is a well respected actor with many credits to his name. In addition to TV shows such as "30 Rock", he's done some terrific voice acting for many films such as "BoJack Horseman" and "The Lego Movie"/"Lego Batman". So I can't help but wonder if someone was angry at him or perhaps his agent was a pussycat...otherwise I have no idea WHY he'd agree to star in this film. It's truly terrible and a movie that only small children could stomach. As for adults, if they watch this one there's a strong likelihood they'll throw something at the TV instead of finishing it! Yes....it's THAT bad.

I should have known the movie was crap when the DVD jacket from Netflix began with 'From the director of Beverly Hills Chihuahua....". That pretty much says it all....as that film was about as enjoyable as a root canal....without anesthesia!! And here they are again with a film about talking dogs!!! Uggh!!!

The story is about a police dog who investigates and solves crimes all on his own. Naturally, he and all the other animals in the picture can talk....and once again it's pretty much like "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" because of this. This is NOT a good thing by the way....talking animals wears thin very quickly. Many of you have seen either this or films like "Dogs and Cats" (which is marginaly better)....but who wants to see this sort of thing more than once? In other words, you've seen one, you've seen them all.

The bottom line is that this is a very bad film--mostly because adults and older kids would rather eat their leg than see something like this. For small children, it's okay entertainment....just make sure you do NOT stay in the room and watch with them....your brain will thank you for this.

Overall, bad writing, creepy CGI and a nonsensical script make this film about animal smuggling one you really want to avoid. I only give this one a 2 becacuse small kids might enjoy it....MIGHT.