Sometimes life throws a happy surprise your way, and such was the case when I sat down to watch Dawg, a comedy starring comedian Denis Leary and Elizabeth Hurley. I've always thought Leary was a pretty good actor (see The Ref), and it's kind of a mystery as to why he hasn't become a bigger star on the big screen – especially considering some of the lame "comedies" Hollywood has been churning out in the past several years. I'm happy to report that Leary does a solid job in Dawg as well, taking what could have been a very run-of-the-mill kind of movie and injecting it with some real life.

Leary plays Doug "Dawg" Munford, who has gotten his nickname for his "love 'em and leave 'em" attitude towards women. We find out just how heartless his character can be when he hits on a busty woman early in the film and has a one-night stand with her – only to get fired the next day because he has unknowingly slept with his boss' wife. Does Leary regret the fact that his playboy ways have cost him his job? No, he only regrets the fact that he didn't know it was his boss' wife – since that would have made the encounter more exciting!

Doug's grandmother passes away, and at the funeral he runs into her lawyer, Anna Lockheart (Elizabeth Hurley) who tells him that his grandmother has left him a large sum of money. It turns out that Doug is set to inherit one million dollars…but there's a catch – to get the money, he has to receive forgiveness from twelve of the women in his past who he's "done wrong". Doug picks the girls from a stack of photographs he's kept of each (marking his "conquests"), and then he and Anna are off – tracking down each of the women in an attempt for Doug to set things right with them.

Of course, as you've probably already guessed, the more women Doug goes to see, the more he realizes what a horrible person he's been. And it doesn't take long for Doug to be drawn to Anna as well…although she's hiding one more surprise up her sleeve that is revealed in the final minutes of the movie.

THE DVD

Video:
The movie is presented in widescreen anamorphic with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. There's some evident grain and the occasional fleck of dirt on the print, but overall the video looks pretty good and there's not much here that will distract from your enjoyment of the film.

Audio:
The audio options here are a 5.1 track, a 2.0 track and a Spanish 2.0 track. The 5.1 track sounds fine, although it's not particularly aggressive in any way. But the dialogue and music backgrounds are sharp and clear, even though they don't otherwise impress.

Extras:

There's not much in the way of extras on this DVD. In addition to the standard chapter selection and audio/subtitle selection (subtitles are offered in English, Spanish and French), the only movie-related extra we get here is a Cast Bios section which gives text biographies for Denis Leary and Elizabeth Hurley. There's also a Trailer for the film Poolhall Junkies.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Fans of Denis Leary should enjoy this light comedic romp that showcases both his comedic and dramatic skills. The lack of extras prevents me from giving this DVD a higher recommendation, but the quality of the film itself ranks high enough that you may want to consider adding this disc to your collection.